'\^i':*1'>?:k- 


^'iUy^hh' 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


^        >•. 


.    V 


# 


^  >  > 


THE 


POLITICAL  MANUAL 


COMPRISING 


NUMEEOUS  IMPOETANT  DOCUMENTS 


CONNECTED  "WITH  THE 


POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  AMERICA, 


COMPILED  FROM  OFFICIAL  KECOKDS,  WITH  BIOGKArniCAL 
SKETCHES  AND    COMMENTS. 


•       •"•>*.• 


BTK"    J.   m:.   HItVTT, 


INDIANAPOLIS,  IND.: 
ASHER    &   ADAMS,    Publishei-s, 

18  64. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1864,  by 

ASHER  &  ADAMS, 

In  the  Clerk's  office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  District  of 

Indiana. 


»  »  • 


3 


3  V' 
rOEMATION  OF  THE  ORIGINAL  UNION. 


On  Monday,  the  5th  of  September,    1774,  there  were  assem- 
bled at  Carpenter's  Ilall,  in  the  city  of  Phihidelphia,  a  number 
of  men  who  had  been  chosen  and  appointed  by  the  several 
_       colonies  in  North  America  to  hold  a  Congress  for  the  purpose 
)       of  discussing  certain  grievances  imputed  against  the  mother- 
^1       country.     This  Congress  resolved  on  the  next  day  that  each 
colony  should  have  one  vote  only.      On  Tuesday,  the  2d  July, 
•^    1776,  the  Congress  resolved,  "That  these  United  Colonies  are, 
C*>\f\    and  of  right  ought  to  be,  Free  and  Independent  States,"  etc., 
etc.;  and  on  Thursday,  the  4th  July,  the  whole  Dechiration  of 
Independence  having  been  agreed  upon,  it  was  publicly  read  to 
the  people.     Shortly  after,  on  the  9th  September,  it  was  resolved 
that  the  words  "  United  Colonies"  should  be  no  longer  used, 
and  that  the   "Unitkd  States  of  America"   should  thencefor- 
ward be  the  style  and  title  of  the  Union.     On  Saturday,  the  15th 
November,   1777,    "Articles   of  Confederation   and  Perpetual 
\        Union  of  the  United  States  of  America"  were  agreed  to  by  the 
^       state  delegates,  subject  to  the  ratification  of  the  state  legisla- 
^     tures  severally.     Eight  of  the  states  ratified  these  articles  on 
T"      the  9th  July,  1778  ;   one  on  the  21st  July  ;  one  on  the  24th  July  ; 
1       one  on  the  26th  November  of  the  same  year;    one  on  the  22d 
^       February,  1779;  and  the  last  one  on  the  1st  March,  1781.    Here 
*J        was  a  bond  of  union  between  thirteen  independent  states,  whose 
^        delegates  in  Congress  legislated  for  the  general  welfare,  and 
executed  certain  powers,  so  far  as  they  were  permitted  Ijy  the 
articles  aforesaid.      The  following  are  the  names  of  the  Presi- 
dents of  the  Continental  Congress  from  1774  to  1788: 


^o*- 


Peyton  Randolph,  Virginia 5th  Sept.,  1774 

Henry  Middleton,  South  Carolina 22d   Oct.,   1774 

Peyton  Randolph,  Virginia lOth  May,  1775 

John  Hancock,  Massachusetts 24th  May,  177C 

Henry  Laurens,  South  Carolina IstNov.,  1777 

John  Jay,  New  York 10th  Dec,  1778 

Samuel  Huntingdon,  Connecticut 28th  Sep.,  1770 

Thomas  McKean,    Delaware lOthJuly,  1782 

John  Hanson,  Maryland 5thNov.,  1781 

Ellas  Boudinot,  New  Jersey 4th    "      1782 

Thomas  Mifflin,  Pennsylvania, 3d      "      1783 

(5) 


6  POPULATION    UNITED    STATES. 

Rich.ird  Henry  Lee,  Virginia 30th  Nov.,  1784 

Natlaaniel  Gorliam,  Massachusetts 6th  Jan.,  1786 

Arthur  St.  Clair,  Pennsylvania 2d  Feb.,  1787 

Cyrus  Griffin,  Virginia 22d  Jan.,  1788 

The  seat  of  government  was  established  as  follows :  at  riaila- 
delphia,  Pa.,  commencing  September  5,  1774,  and  May  10, 
1775;  at  Baltimore,  Md.,  December  20,  1776  ;  at  Philadelphia, 
Pa.,  March  4,  1777;  at  Lancaster,  Pa.,  September  27,  1777;  at 
York,  Pa.,  September  30,  1777;  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  July  2, 
1778;  atPrinceton,  N.  J.,  June  30,  1783;  at  Annapolis,  Md., 
November  26,  1783;  at  Trenton,  N.  J,  November  1,  1784;  and 
at  New  York  City,  N.  Y,  Jan.  11,  1785. 

On  the  4th  March,  1789,  the  present  Constitution,  which  had 
been  adopted  by  a  convention  and  ratified  by  the  requisite 
number  of  states,  went  into  operation. 


POPDLATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  AT  DECENNIAL  PERIODS. 


Census 

"White 
Persons. 

Colored  Persons. 

Total 

Years. 

Free. 

yiave. 

Total. 

Population. 

1790... 
1800... 
1810... 
1820... 
1830... 
1840... 
1850... 
1860... 

8,172,464 

4,304,489 

5,802,004 

7,801,937 

10,537,378 

14,195,695 

19,553,068 

26.964,930 

59,466 
108,395 
186,446 
238,150 
319,599 
386,303 
434,495 
487,970 

097,897 
893.041 
1,191^364 
1,538,088 
2,009,043 
2,487,455 
3,204,313 
3,953,760 

757,363 
1,001,436 
1,377,810 
1,776,194 
2,328,642 
2,873,758 
3,638,808 
4,441,730 

3,929,827 

6,305,925 

7,239,814 

9,638,131 

12,866,020 

17,069,453 

23,191,876 

81,443,322 

DECLAllATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 


IN   CONGRESS,     TUESDAY,    JULY    4,    1776. 

Agreeably  to  the  order  of  the  day,  the  Congress  resolved  itself 
into  a  committee  of  the  whole,  to  take  into  their  further  con- 
sideration the  Declaration ;  and  after  some  time  the  President 
resumed  the  chair,  and  Mr.  Harrison  reported  that  the  com- 
mittee had  agreed  to  a  declaration,  which  they  desired  him  to 
report.  (The  committee  consisted  of  Jefferson,  Franklin,  John 
Adams,  ISherman,  and  K.  R.  Livingston.) 

The  Declaration  being  read,  was  agreed  to,  as  follows : 

A    DECLARATION 

U\'  THE    REPRESENTATIVES    OF     THE    UNITED     STATES    OF     AMERICA, 
IX    CONGRESS    ASSEMBLED. 

When,  in  the  course  of  human  events,  it  becomes  necessary 
for  one  people  to  dissolve  the  political  bands  which  have  con- 
nected them  with  another,  and  to  assume  among  the  powers  of 
the  earth,  the  separate  and  equal  station  to  which  the  laws  of 
nature  and  of  nature's  God  entitle  them,  a  decent  respect  to  the 
opinions  of  mankind  requires  that  they  should  declare  the 
causes  which  impel  them  to  the  separation. 

We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident,  that  all  men  are  cre- 
ated equal;  that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain 
unalienable  rights;  that  among  these,  are  life,  liberty,  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness.  That  to  secure  these  rights,  governments 
are  instituted  among  men,  deriving  their  just  powers  from  the 
consent  of  the  governed;  that,  whenever  any  form  of  govern- 
ment becomes  destructive  of  these  ends,  it  is  the  right  of  the 
people  to  alter  or  to  abolish  it,  and  to  institute  a  new  govern- 
ment, laying  its  foundation  on  such  principles,  and  organizing 
its  powers  in  such  form,  as  to  them  shall  seem  most  likely  to 
effect  their  safety  and  happiness.  Prudence,  indeed,  will  dic- 
tate that  governments  long  established,  should  not  be  changed 
for  light  and  transient  causes ;  and,  accordingly,  all  experience 
hath  shown,  that  mankind  are  more  disposed  to  suffer,  while 
evils  are  sufferable,  than  to  right  themselves  by  abolishing  tiio 

(") 


8  DECI-AUATIOX    OF    IXDErEXDEXCET. 

forms  to  which  they  ^re  accustomed.  But,  when  a  long  train  of 
abuses  and  usurpations,  pursuing  invariably  the  same  object, 
evinces  a  design  to  reduce  them  under  absolute  despotism,  it  is 
their  right,  it  is  their  duty,  to  throw  off  such  government,  and 
to  provide  new  guards  for  their  future  security.  Such  has  been 
the  patient  sutlerance  of  these  colonies,  and  snch  is  now  the 
necessity  which  constrains  them  to  alter  their  former  systems 
of  government.  The  history  of  the  present  King  of  Great 
liritain  is  a  history  of  repeated  injuries  and  usurpations,  all 
havin'^,  in  direct  o])jcct,  the  establishment  of,  an  absolute 
tyranny  over  these  states.  To  prove  this,  let  facta  be  submitted 
to  a  candid  world  : 

He  has  refus-ed  hi.s  assent  to  laws  the  most  wholesome  and 
necessary  for  tlie  public  good. 

He  has  forl>idden  his  Governors  to  pass  laws  of  immediate 
and  pressing  importance,  unless  suspended  in  their  operation 
till  his  assent  should  be  obtained;  and  when  so  suspended,  he 
has  utterly  neglected  to  attend  to  them. 

He  has  refused  to  pass  other  laws  for  the  accommodation  of 
large  districts  of  people,  unless  those  people  would  relinquish 
the  right  of  representation  in  the  legislature;  a  right  inesti- 
mable to  them,  and  formidalde  to  tyrants  only. 

He  has  called  together  legislative  bodies  at  places  unusual, 
uncomfortable,  and  distant  from  the  depository  of  their  public 
records,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  fatiguing  them  into  compliance 
with  his  measures. 

He  has  dissolved  representative  houses  repeatedly,  for  oppo- 
sing, with  manly  firmness,  his  invasions  on  the  rights  of  the 
people. 

He  has  refused,  for  a  long  time  iiftt-r  such  dissolutions,  to 
cause  others  to  be  elected;  wliereby  tlie  legislative  powers,  in- 
capable of  annihilation,  have  returned  to  the  people  at  large  for 
their  exercise;  the  state  remaining,  in  the  mean  time,  exposed 
to  all  the  danger  of  invasion  from  without,  and  convulsions 
within. 

He  has  endeavored  to  prevent  the  population  of  these  states ; 
for  that  purpose,  obstructing  the  laws  for  naturalization  of  for- 
eigners; refusing  to  pass  others  to  encourage  their  emigration 
hither,  and  raising  the  conditions  of  new  appropriations  of 
lands. 

He  has  obstructed  the  administration  of  justice,  by  refusing 
his  assent  to  laws  for  establishing  judiciary  powers. 

He  has  made  judges  dependent  on  his  will  alone,  for  the 
tenure  of  their  offices,  and  the  amount  and  payment  of  their 
salaries. 

He  has  erected  a  multitude  of  new  offices,  and  sent  hither 
swarms  of  officers  to  harass  our  people,  and  eat  out  their  substance. 


DECtARATlO'N    OF  INDEPENDENCE.  9 

He  has  kept  among  us,  in  times  of  peace,  standing  armies, 
without  the  consent  of  our  legislature. 

He  has  afl'ected  to  render  the  military  independent  of,  and 
superior  to,  the  civil  power. 

He  has  combined,  with  others,  to  subject  us  to  a  jurisdiction 
foreign  to  our  constitution,  and  unacknowledged  by  our  laws; 
giving  his  assent  to  their  acts  of  pretended  legislation : 

For  quartering  large  bodies  of  armed  troops  among  us; 

For  protecting  them,  by  a  mock  trial,  from  punishment,  foP 
any  murders  which  they  should  commit  on  the  inhabitants  of 
these  states  ; 

For  cutting  off  our  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  world ; 

For  imposing  taxes  on  us  without  our  consent; 

For  depriving  us,  in  many  cases,  of  the  benefits  of  trial  by 

jury- 

For  transporting  us  beyond  seas  to  be  tried  for  pretended 
effences. 

For  abolishing  the  free  system  of  English  laws  in  a  neighbor- 
ing province,  establishing  therein  an  arbitrary  government,  and 
enlarging  its  boundaries,  so  as  to  render  it  at  once  an  example 
and  fit  instrument  for  introducing  the  same  absolute  rule  into 
these  colonies ; 

For  taking  away  our  charters,  abolishing  our  most  valuable 
laws,  and  altering,  fundamentally,  the  powers  of  our  govera- 
ments ; 

For  suspending  our  own  legislatures,  and  declaring  themselves 
invested  with  power  to  legislate  for  us  in  all  cases  whatsoever. 

He  has  abdicated  government  here,  by  declaring  us  out  of 
his  protection,  and  waging  war  against  us. 

He  has  plundered  our  seas,  ravaged  our  coasts,  burnt  our 
towns,  and  destroyed  the  lives  of  our  people. 

He  is,  at  this  time,  transporting  large  armies  of  foreign  mer- 
cenaries to  complete  the  works  of  death,  desolation,  and  tyranny, 
already  begun,  with  circumstances  of  cruelty  and  perfidy 
scarcely  paralleled  in  the  most  barbarous  ages,  and  totally  un- 
worthy the  head  of  a  civilized  nation. 

He  has  constrained  our  fellow-citizens,  taken  captive  on  the 
high  seas,  to  bear  arms  against  their  country,  to  become  the 
executioners  of  their  friends  and  brethren,  or  to  fall  themselves 
by  their  hands. 

He  has  excited  domestic  insurrections  amongst  us,  and  has 
endeavored  to  bring  on  the  inhabitants  of  our  frontiers,  the 
merciless  Indian  savages,  whose  known  rule  of  warfare  is  an 
undistinguished  destruction,  of  all  ages,  sexes,  and  conditions. 

In  every  stage  of  these  oppressions,  we  have  petitioned  for 
redress,  in  the  most  humble  terms;  our  repeated  petitions  have 
been   answered  only   by   repeated   injury.      A  prince,  whose 


10  UECLAUATION     OF     INnKl'ENDli.NCK. 

character  m  thus   marked  by  every   act   which   may    define   a 
tyrant,  is  unlit  to  be  the  ruler  of  a  free  people. 

Nor  have  we  been  wanting  in  attention  to  our  British  breth- 
ren. We  have  warned  them,  from  time  to  time,  of  attempts 
made  by  their  loiiislature  to  extend  an  unwarrnutable  jurisdic- 
tion over  us.  We  have  reminded  them  of  the  circumstances  of 
our  emii^ration  and  settlement  here.  We  have  appealed  to  their 
native  justice  and  magnanimity,  and  we  have  conjured  them, 
by  the  ties  of  our  common  kindred,  to  disavow  these  usurpa- 
t'ons,  which  would  inevitably  interrupt  our  connections  and 
correspondence.  They,  too,  have  been  deaf  to  the  voice  of 
justice  and  consanguinity.  We  must,  therefore,  acquiesce  in 
the  necessity,  which  denounces  our  separation,  and  hold  them, 
as  we  hold'  the  rest  of  mankind,  enemies  in  war — in  peace, 
friends. 

We,  therefore,  the  representatives  of  the  UNITED  STATES 
OF  AMERICA,  in  GENERAL  CONGRESS  assembled,  ap- 
pealing to  the  Supreme  Judge  of  the  World  fur  the  rectitude  of 
our  intentions,  do,  in  the  name,  and  by  the  authority  of  the 
good  people  of  these  colonies,  solemnly  publish  and  declare. 
That  these  United  Colonies  are,  and  of  right  ought  to  be,  Frhb 
AND  Independent  States;  that  they  arc  absolved  from  all  alle- 
giance to  the  British  crown,  and  that  all  political  connection 
between  them  and  the  State  of  Great  Dritain,  is,  and  ought  to 
be,  totally  dissolved;  and  that,  as  FEEE  AND  INDEPEN- 
DENT STATES,  they  have  full  power  to  levy  war,  conclude 
peace,  contract  alliances,  establish  commerce,  and  to  do  all 
other  acts  and  things  which  INDEPENDENT  STATES  may  of 
right  do.  And  for  the  support  of  this  Declaration,  with  a  firm 
reliance  on  the  protection  of  DIVINE  PROVIDENCE,  we  mu- 
tually pledge  to  each  other,  our  lives,  our  fortunes,  and  our 
sacred  honor. 

The  foregoing  Declaration   was,   by   order   of  Congress,  en 
grossed,  and  signed  by  the  following  members : 

JOHN  HANCOCK. 

New  Hampshire.  Massachusetts  Baj/. 

JosiAii  Baktlett,  Samuel  Ao^vits, 

William  Whipple,  John  Adajis, 

Matthew  Thornton.  Robert  Treat  Payne, 

Elbridge  Gerry. 


DECLARATION   OF  INDEPENDENCE. 


11 


Rhode  Island. 

Stephen  Hopkins, 
William  Ellery. 


Conneciicut. 

Roger  Sherman, 
Samuel  Huntington, 
William  Williams, 
Oliver  Wolsott. 


iVew   York. 

William  Floyd, 
Philip  Livingston, 
Francis  Lewis, 
Lewis  Morris. 


I\^ew  Jersey. 

Richard  Stockton, 
John  Witherspoon, 
Francis  Hopkinson, 
John  Hart, 
Abraham  Clakk. 


Pennsylvania. 

Robert  Morris, 
Benjamin  Rush, 
Benjamin  Franklin, 
John  Morton, 
George  Clymer, 
James  Smith, 
George  Taylor, 
James  Wilson, 
George  Ross. 


Delaware. 

CiESAR  Rodney, 
George  Read, 
Thomas  M'Kean. 

Maryland. 

Samuel  Chase, 
William  Paca, 
Thomas  Stone, 

Charles  Carroll,  of  Carrollton. 

# 

Virginia. 

George  Wythe, 
Richard  Henry  Lee, 
Thomas  Jefferson, 
Benjamin  Harrison, 
Thomas  Nelson,  Jun., 
Francis  Lightfoot  Lee, 
Carter  Braxton. 

North   Carolina. 

William  Hooper, 
Joseph  Hewes, 
John  Penn. 

South  Carolina. 

Edward  Rutledge, 
Thomas  Heyward,  Jun., 
Thomas  Lynch,  Jun,, 
Arthur  Middleton. 

Georgia. 

Button  Gwinnett, 
Lyman  Hall, 
George  Walton. 


CONSTITUTION 

OF   THE 

UNITED  STATES  OE  AMERICA. 


We,  the  People  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form  a  more 
perfect  Union,  establish  justice,  insure  domestic  tranquility, 
provide  for  the  common  defence,  promote  the  general  welfare, 
and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty  to  ourselves  and  our  pos- 
terity, do  ordain  and  establish  this  Constitution  for  the  United 
States  of  America. 

AKTICLE     I. 

Section  1.  All  the  legislative  powers  herein  granted  shall  be 
vested  in  a  Congress  of  the  United  States,  which  shall  consist 
of  a  Senate  and  House  of  Kepresentatives. 

Sec.  2.  The  House  of  Kepi-esentatives  shall  bo  composed  of 
members  chosen  every  second  year  by  the  people  of  the  several 
States,  and  the  electors  in  each  State  shall  have  the  qualifica- 
tions requisite  for  electors  of  the  most  numerous  branch  of  the 
State  Legislature. 

No  person  shall  be  a  Representative  who  shall  not  have  at- 
tained to  the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  and  been  seven  years  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be 
an  inhabitant  of  that  State  in  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

Representatives  and  direct  taxes  shall  be  apportioned  among 
the  several  States  which  may  be  included  within  this  Union,  ac- 
cording to  their  respective  numbers,  which  shall  be  determined 
by  adding  to  the  whole  number  of  free  persons,  including  those 
bound  to  service  for  a  term  of  years,  and  excluding  Indians  not 
taxed,  three-fifths  of  all  other  persons.  The  actual  enumeration 
shall  be  made  within  three  years  after  the  first  meeting  of  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  within  every  subsequent  ternx 
of  ten  years,  in  such  manner  as  they  shall  by  law  direct.  The 
number  of  Representatives  shall  not  exceed  one  for  every  thirty 
thousand,  but  each  State  shall  have  at  least  one  Representative; 
and  until  such  enumeration  shall  be  made,  the  State  of  New 

(12) 


THE  CONSTITUTION  13 

Hampshire  shall  be  entitled  to  choose  three,  Massachusetts  eight, 
Bhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations  one,  Connecticut  five, 
New  York  six,  New  Jersey  four,  Pennsylvania  eight,  Delaware 
one,  Maryland  six,  Virginia  ten,  North  Carolina  five,  South  Car- 
olina five,  and  Georgia  three. 

When  vacancies  happen  in  the  representation  from  any  State, 
the  Executive  authority  thereof  shall  issue  Writs  of  Election  to 
fill  such  vacancies. 

The  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  their  Speaker  and 
other  officers;  and  shall  have  the  sole  power  of  impeachment. 

Seo.  3.  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  shall  be  composed 
of  two  Senators  from  each  State,  chosen  by  the  Legislature 
thereof,  for  six  years;  and  each  Senator  shall  have  one  vote. 

Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled  in  consequence  of 
the  first  election,  they  shall  be  divided  as  equally  as  may  be  into 
three  classes.  The  seats  of  the  Senators  of  the  first  class  shall 
be  vacated  at  the  expiration  of  the  second  year,  of  the  second 
class  at  the  expiration  of  the  fourth  year,  and  of  the  third  class 
at  the  expiration  of  the  sixth  year,  so  that  one-third  may  be 
chosen  every  second  year;  and  if  vacancies  happen  by  resigna- 
tion, or  otherwise,  during  the  recess  of  the  Legislature  of  any 
State,  the  Executive  thereof  may  make  temporary  appointments 
until  the  next  meeting  of  the  Legislature,  which  shall  then  fill 
such  vacancies. 

No  person  shall  be  a  Senator  who  shall  not  have  attained  to 
the  age  of  thirty  years,  and  been  nine  years  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant 
of  that  State  for  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

The  Vice  President  of  the  United  State  shall  be  President  of 
the  Senate,  but  shall  have  no  vote,  unless  they  be  equally  divided. 

The  Senate  shall  choose  their  other  officers,  and  also  a  Presi- 
dent pro  tempore^  in  the  absence  of  the  Vice  President,  or  when 
he  shall  exercise  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States. 

The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  power  to  try  all  impeachments. 
When  sitting  for  that  purpose,  they  shall  be  on  oath  or  affirma- 
tion. When  the  President  of  the  United  States  is  tried,  the 
Chief  Justice  shall  preside;  and  no  person  shall  be  convicted 
without  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds  of  the  members  present. 

Judgment  in  cases  of  impeachment  shall  not  extend  further 
than  to  removal  from  office,  and  disqualification  to  hold  and  en- 
joy any  office  of  honor,  trust  or  profit  under  the  United  States; 
but  the  party  convicted  shall  nevertheless  be  liable  and  subject 
to  indictment,  trial,  judgment  and  punishment,  according  to  law. 

Seo.  4.  The  times,  places  and  manner  of  holding  elections  for 
Senators  and  Representatives,  shall  be  prescribed  in  each  State 
by  the  Legislature  thereof;  but  the  Congress  may  at  any  time  by 


14  .  THE   CONSTITUTION'. 

law  make  or  alter  such  regulations,  except  as  the  places  of  choos- 
ing Senators. 

The  Congress  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every  year,  and 
Buch  meeting  shall  be  on  the  first  Monday  in  December,  unless 
they  shall  by  law  appoint  a  different  day. 

Sec.  5.  Each  llouse  shall  be  the  judge  of  the  elections,  re- 
turns, and  qualifications  of  its  own  members,  and  a  majority  of 
each  shall  constitute  a  quorum  to  do  business;  but  a  smaller 
number  may  adjourn  from  day  to  day,  and  may  be  authorized 
to  compel  the  attendance  of  absent  members,  in  such  manner 
and  under  such  penalties  as  each  House  may  provide. 

Each  llouse  may  determine  the  Rules  of  its  Proceedings,  pun- 
ish its  members  for  disorderly  behavior,  and,  with  the  concur- 
rence of  two-thirds,  expel  a  member. 

Each  House  shall  keep  a  Journal  of  its  Proceedings,  and  from 
time  to  time  publish  the  same,  excepting  such  parts  as  may  in 
their  judgment  require  secrecy;  and  the  yeas  and  nays  of  the 
members  of  either  House  on  any  question  shall,  at  the  desire 
of  one-fifth  of  those  present,  be  entered  on  the  journal. 

Neither  House,  during  the  session  of  Congress,  shall,  without 
the  consent  of  the  other,  adjourn  for  more  than  three  days,  nor 
to  any  other  place  than  that  in  which  the  two  Houses  shall  be 
sitting. 

Sec.  G.  The  Senators  and  Representatives  shall  receive  a 
compensation  for  their  services,  to  be  ascertained  by  law  and 
paid  out  of  the  treasury  of  the  United  States.  They  shall  in  all 
cases,  except  treason,  felony,  and  breach  of  the  peace,  be  privi- 
liged  from  arrest  during  their  attendance  at  the  session  of  their 
respective  Houses,  and  in  going  to  and  returning  from  the  same; 
and  for  any  speech  or  debate  in  either  House,  they  shall  not  be 
questioned  in  any  other  place. 

No  Senator  or  Representative  shall,  during  the  time  for  which 
he  was  elected,  be  appointed  to  any  civil  office  under  the  author- 
ity of  the  United  States,  which  shall  have  been  created,  or  the 
emoluments  Avhereof  shall  have  been  increased  during  such 
time;  and  no  person  holding  any  office  under  the  United  States 
shall  be  a  member  of  either  House  during  his  continuance  in 
office. 

Seo.  7.  All  bills  for  raising  revenue  shall  originate  in  the 
House  of  Representatives  ;  but  the  Senate  may  propose  or  con- 
cur with  amendments  as  on  other  bills. 

Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives and  the  Senate,  shall,  before  it  becomes  a  law,  be  presented 
to  the  President  of  the  United  States  :  If  he  approve,  he  shall 
sign  it;  but  if  not,  he  shall  return  it,  with  his  objections,  to  that 
House  in  which  it  shall  have  originated,  who  shall  enter  the 
objections  at  large  on  their  Journal,  and  proceed  to  reconsider 


THE   COXSTITUTIOV,  15 

it.  If,  after  such  reconsideration,  two-thirds  of  that  House  shall 
agree  to  pass  the  bill,  it  shall  be  sent,  toj^ether  with  the  objec- 
tions, to  the  other  House,  by  which  it  shall  likewise  be  recon- 
sidered, and  if  approved  by  two-thirds  of  that  House,  it  shall 
become  a  law.  But  in  all  such  cases  the  votes  of  both  Hou-ses 
shall  be  determined  by  yeas  and  nays,  and  the  names  of  the 
persons  vojjing  for  and  against  the  bilf  shall  be  entered  on  the 
Journal  of  each  House  respectively.  H' any  bill  shall  not  be 
returned  by  the  President  Avithin  ten  days  (fc?undays  excepted) 
after  it  shall  have  been  presented  to  him,  the  same  shall  be 
law,  in  like  manner  as  if  he  had  signed  it,  unless  the  Congress, 
by  their  adjournment,  prevent  its  return,  in  which  case  it  shall 
not  be  a  law. 

Every  order,  resolution,  or  vote  to  vrhich  the  concurrence  of 
the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  may  be  necessary  (ex- 
cept on  a  question  of  adjournment)  shall  be  presented  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States;  and  before  the  same  shall  take 
effect,  shall  be  approved  by  him;  or,  being  disapproved  by  him, 
shall  be  repassed  by  two-thirds  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives, according  to  the  rules  and  limitations  prescribed 
in  the  case  of  a  bill. 

Sec.  8.     The  Congress  shall  have  Power — 

To  lay  and  collect  Taxes,  Duties,  Imposts  and  Excises,  to  pay 
ti^ie  debts  and  provide  for  the  common  defence  and  general  wel- 
fare of  the  United  States;  but  all  Duties,  Imposts  and  Excises 
shall  be  uniform  throughout  the  United  States ; 

To  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States; 

To  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  and  among  the 
several  States,  and  with  the  Indian  tribes ; 

To  establish  an  uniform  rule  of  naturalization,  and  uniform 
laws  on  the  subject  of  bankruptcies  throughout  the  United 
States ; 

To  coin  money,  regulate  the  value  thereof  and  of  foreign  coin, 
and  fix  the  standard  of  weights  and  measures; 

To  provide  for  the  punishment  of  counterfeiting  the  securities 
and  current  coin  of  the  United  States ; 

To  establish  post  offices  and  post  roads; 

To  promote  the  progress  of  science  and  useful  arts,  by  secur- 
ing for  limited  times  to  authors  and  inventors  the  exclusive  right 
to  their  respective  writings  and  discoveries; 

To  constitute  tribunals  inferior  to  the  Supreme  Court; 

To  define  and  punish  piracies  and  felonies  committed  on  the 
high  seas,  and  ofl'ences  against  the  law  of  nations; 

To  declare  war,  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal,  and  make 
rules  concerning  captures  on  land  and  water; 

To  raise  and  support  armies,  but  no  appropriation  of  money 
to  that  use  shall  be  for  a  longer  term  than  two  years; 


16  THE   COKSTITfTION. 

To  provide  and  maintain  a  navy; 

To  make  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation  cf  the  land 
and  naval  forces ; 

To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  militia  to  execute  the  laws  of 
the  Union,  suppress  insurrections  and  repel  invasions; 

To  provide  for  organizing,  arming,  and  disciplining  the  militia, 

and  for  governing  such  part  of  them  as  may  be  employed  in  tho 

service  of  the  United  States,  reserving  to  the  States  respectively 

the  appointment  of  the  officers,  and  the  authority  of  training 

he  militia  according  to  the  discipline  prescribed  by  Congress; 

To  exercise  exclusive  legislation,  in  all  cases  whatsoever,  over 
such  district  (not  exceeding  ton  miles  square)  as  may,  by  cession 
of  particular  States,  and  the  acceptance  of  Congress,  become 
the  Seat  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  and  to  exercise 
like  authority  over  all  places  purchased  by  the  consent  of  the 
Legislature  of  the  State  in  which  the  same  shall  be,  for  the  erec- 
tion of  forts,  magazines,  arsenals,  dock  yards,  and  other  needful 
buildings;  and 

To  make  all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper  for  car- 
rying into  execution  the  foregoing  powers,  and  all  other  Powers 
vested  by  this  Constitution  in  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  or  in  any  department  or  officer  thereof 

Skc.  9.  The  migration  or  importation  of  such  persons  as  any 
of  the  States  now  existing  shall  think  proper  to  admit,  shall  not 
be  prohibited  by  the  Congress  prior  to  the  year  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  eight,  but  a  tax  or  duty  may  be  imposed  on 
such  importation,  not  exceeding  ten  dollars  for  each  person. 

The  privilege  of  the  Writ  of  Habeas  Corpus  shall  not  be  sus- 

f  ended,  unless  when,  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion,  the  pub- 
ic safety  may  require  it. 

No  bill  of  attainder  or  ex  post  facto  law  shall  be  passed. 

No  capitation,  or  other  direct,  tax  shall  be  laid,  unless  in  pro- 
portion to  the  census  or  enumeration  hereinbefore  directed  to 
be  taken. 

No  tax  or  duty  shall  be  laid  on  articles  exported  from  any 
State. 

No  preference  shall  be  given  by  any  regulation  of  commerce 
or  revenue  to  the  ports  of  one  State  over  those  of  another;  nor 
shall  vessels  bound  to  or  from  one  State,  be  obliged  to  enter, 
clear,  or  pay  duties  in  another. 

No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treasury  but  in  consequence 
of  appropriations  made  by  law ;  and  a  regular  statement  and 
account  of  the  receipts  and  expenditures  of  all  public  money 
shall  be  published  from  time  to  time. 

No  title  of  nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United  States : 
And  no  person  holding  any  office  of  profit  or  trust  under  them 
shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  accept  of  any  present. 


THB   OONSTITDTION.  17 

cmoliunent,  office,  or  title,  of  any  kind  whatever,  from  any  king, 
prince,  or  foreign  State. 

Hkc.  10.  No  State  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  alliance,  or 
confederation;  grant  letters  of  marque  or  reprisal;  coin  money; 
emit  bills  of  credit;  make  anything  but  gold  and  silver  coin  a 
tender  in  payment  of  debts;  pass  any  bill  of  attainder,  ex  post 
facto  law,  or  law  impairing  the  obligation  of  contracts,  or  grant 
any  title  of  nobility. 

No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  lay  any 
imposts  or  duties  on  imports  or  exports,  except  what  may  be  ab- 
solutely necessary  for  executing  its  inspection  laws;  and  the  net 
produce  of  all  duties  and  imposts,  laid  by  any  State  on  imports 
or  exports,  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  treasury  of  the  United 
States;  and  all  such  laws  shall  be  subject  to  the  revision  and 
control  of  the  Congress. 

No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  lay  any  duty 
of  tonnage,  keep  troops,  or  ships  of  war  in  time  of  peace,  enter 
into  any  agreement  or  compact  with  another  State,  or  with  a 
foreign  power,  or  engage  in  war,  unless  actually  invaded,  or  in 
such  imminent  danger  as  will  not  admit  of  delay. 

ARTICLE    II. 

Section  1.  The  Executive  Power  shall  be  vested  in  a  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  of  America.  He  shall  hold  his  office 
during  the  term  of  four  years,  and,  together  with  the  Vice 
President,  chosen  for  the  same  terra,  be  elected  as  follows: 

Each  State  shall  appoint,  in  such  manner  as  the  Legislature 
thereof  may  direct,  a  number  of  electors,  equal  to  the  number 
of  Senators  and  Representatives  to  which  the  State  may  be  en- 
titled in  the  Congress ;  but  no  Senator  or  Representative,  or  per- 
son holding  an  office  of  trust  or  profit  under  the  United  States, 
shall  be  appointed  an  elector. 

[The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States,  and  vote 
by  ballot  for  two  persons,  of  one  at  least  shall  not  be  an  inhabi- 
tant of  the  same  State  with  themselves.  And  they  shall  make  a 
list  of  all  the  persons  voted  for,  and  of  the  number  of  votes  for 
each;  which  list  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit  sealed 
to  the  seat  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  directed  to 
the  President  of  the  Senate.  The  President  of  the  Senate  shall, 
in  the  presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives, 
open  all  the  certificates,  and  the  votes  shall  then  be  counted. 
The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  shall  be  the 
President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number 
of  electors  appointed ;  and  if  there  be  more  than  one  who  have 
such  majority,  and  have  an  equal  number  of  votes,  then  the 
House  of  Representatives  shall  immediately  choose  by  ballot  one 


18  THE  CONSTITUTION. 

of  them  for  President;  and  if  no  person  have  a  majority,  then 
from  the  five  highest  on  the  list  the  said  House  shall  in  like 
manner  choose  the  President.  But  in  choosing  the  President, 
the  votes  shall  be  taken  by  States,  the  representation  from  each 
State  having  one  vote.  A  quorum  for  this  purpose  shall  consist 
of  a  member  or  members  from  two-thirds  of  the  States,  and  a 
majority  of  all  the  States  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  In 
every  case,  after  the  choice  of  the  President,  the  person  having 
the  greatest  number  of  votes  of  the  electors  shall  be  the  Vice 
President.  But  if  there  should  remain  two  or  more  who  liave 
equal  votes,  the  Senate  shall  choose  from  them  by  ballot  the  Vice 
President.*] 

The  Congress  may  determine  the  time  of  choosing  the  electors, 
and  the  day  on  which  they  shall  give  their  votes;  which  day 
ehall  be  the  same  throughout  the  United  States. 

No  person  except  a  natural  born  citizen,  or  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  this  Constitution, 
stall  be  eligible  to  the  office  of  President;  neither  shall  any 
person  be  eligible  to  that  office  who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the 
age  of  thirty-five  years,  and  been  fourteen  years  a  resident  within 
the  United  States. 

In  case  of  the  removal  of  the  President  from  office,  or  of  his 
death,  resignation,  or  inability  to  discharge  the  powers  and  du- 
ties of  the  said  office,  the  same  shall  devolve  on  the  Vice  Presi- 
dent, and  the  Congress  may  by  law  provide  for  the  case  of 
removal,  death,  resignation,  or  inability,  both  of  the  President 
and  Vice  President,  declaring  what  officer  shall  then  act  as 
President,  and  such  officer  shall  act  accordingly,  until  the  disa- 
bility be  removed,  or  a  President  shall  be  elected. 

The  President  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  his  services  a 
compensation,  which  shall  neither  be  increased  nor  diminished 
during  the  period  for  which  he  shall  have  been  elected,  and  he 
shall  net  receive  within  that  period  any  other  emolument  from 
the  United  States,  or  any  of  them. 

Before  he  enter  on  the  execution  of  his  office,  he  shall  take 
the  following  oath  or  affirmation : 

"I  do  solemly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully  execute  the 
office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  and  will,  to  the  best  of  my 
ability,  preserve,  protect  and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States." 

Seo.  2.  The  President  shall  be  Commander-in-Chief  of  the 
Army  and  Navy  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  militia  of  the 
Beveral  States,  when  called  into  the  actual  service  of  the  United 
States;  he  may  require  the  opinion,  in  writing,  of  the  principal 

^This  clauBS  has  been  superceded  and  annuled  by  the  12th  amendment. 


THE   CONSTITt  TU)N.  19 

oflScer  in  each  of  the  Executive  DepartinentH,  upon  Mny  subject 
relating  to  the  duties  of  their  respective  otficcs  ;  and  he  shall 
have  power  to  grant  reprieves  and  pardons  for  offences  against 
the  United  States,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment. 

He  shall  have  power,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of 
the  Senate,  to  make  treaties,  provided  two-tiiirds  of  the  Senate 
present  concur;  and  he  shall  nominate,  and  by  and  witli  the 
advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  shall  appoint  Ambassadors, 
other  pulilic  ]\Iinisters  and  Consuls,  Judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  and  all  other  officers  of  the  United  States,  whose  appoint- 
ments are  not  herein  otherwise  provided  for,  and  -which  shall  be 
established  bylaw;  but  the  Congress  may  by  law  vest  the  ap- 
pointment of  such  inferior  officers  as  they  think  proper  in  the 
President  alone,  in  the  Courts  of  Law,  or  in  the  Heads  of  De- 
partments. 

The  President  shall  have  power  to  fill  "up  all  vacancies  that 
may  happen  during  the  recess  of  the  Senate,  by  granting  com- 
missions, which  shall  expire  at  the  end  of  their  next  session. 

Skc.  3.  He  shall  from  time  to  time  give  to  the  Congress  in- 
formation of  the  state  of  the  Union,  and  recommend  to  their 
consideration  such  measures  as  he  shall  judge  necessary  and 
I'xpedient;  he  may,  on  extraordinary  occasions,  convene  both 
Houses,  or  either  of  them;  and  in  case  of  disagreement  between 
them,  with  respect  to  the  time  of  adjournment,  he  may  adjourn 
them  to  such  time  as  he  shall  think  proper;  he  shall  receive 
Ambassadors  and  other  public  Ministers ;  he  shall  take  care 
that  the  laws  be  faithfully  executed,  and  shall  commission  all  the 
oflicers  of  the  United  States. 

Sec.  4.  The  President,  Vice  President,  and  all  Civil  Officers 
of  the  United  States,  shall  be  removed  from  office  on  impeach- 
ment for,  and  conviction  of,  Treason,  Bribery,  or  other  high 
Crimes  and  Misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE    III. 

Skction  1.  The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  be 
vested  in  one  Supreme  Court,  and  in  such  inferior  Courts  as  the 
Congress  may  from  time  to  time  ordain  and  establish.  The 
.fudges,  both  of  the  Supreme  and  inferior  Courts,  shall  hold  their 
offices  during  good  behayior,  and  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive 
for  their  services  a  comjftnsation,  which  shall  not  be  diminished 
'luring  their  continuance  in  office. 

Sec.  2.  The  judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all  cases,  in  Law 
and  Equity,  arising  under  this  Constitution,  the  Laws  of  the 
United  States,  and  Treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be  made,  under 
their  authority;  to  all  cases  affecting  Ambassadors,  other  public 
Ministers,  and  Consuls ;   to  all  cases  of  admirality  and  maritime 


20  TITB   CONSTITUTION'. 

jurisdiction;  to  controversies  to  wliicli  the  United  States  sl)all 
be  a  party;  to  controversies  between  two  or  more  States;  be- 
tween a  State  and  citizens  of  another  State;  between  citizens 
of  diB'erent  States;  between  citizens  of  the  same  State  claiming 
hinds  under  j^rants  of  diflerent  States,  and  between  a  State,  or 
the  citizens  thereof,  and  foreign  States,  citizens  or  subjects. 

In  all  cases  aflectino;  Ambassador.s,  other  public  Ministers  and 
Consuls,  and  tiiose  in  which  a  State  shall  be  a  party,  the  Supreme 
Court  shall  have  original  jurisdiction.  In  all  tlie  other  cases 
before  mentioned,  the  Supremo  Court  shall  have  appellate  juris- 
diction, both  as  to  law  and  fact,  with  such  exceptions  and  under 
such  regulations  as  the  Congress  shall  make. 

The  trial  of  all  crimes,  except  in  cases  of  Impeachment, shall 
be  by  jury;  and  such  trial  shall  be  held  in  the  State  where  the 
said  crimes  shall  have  been  committed;  but  when  not  commiti- 
ted  within  any  State,  the  trial  shall  bo  at  such  place  or  places 
as  the  Congress  may  by  law  have  directed. 

Sec.  3.  Treason  against  the  United  States  shall  consist  only 
in  levying  war  against  them,  or  adhering  to  their  enemies,  giv- 
ingthemaid  and  comfort.  No  person  shall  be  convicted  of  trea- 
son unless  on  the  testimony  of  two  witnesses  to  the  same  overt 
act,  or  on  confession  in  open  Court. 

The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  declare  tiie  punishaAent  of 
treason,  but,  no  Attainder  of  Treason,  shall  work  corruption  of 
blood,  or  forfeiture,  except  during  the  life  of  the  person  attainted. 

ARTICLE    IV. 

Section  1.  Full  faith  and  credit  shall  be  given  in  each  State 
to  the  public  acts,  records,  and  judicial  proceedings  of  every 
other  State.  And  the  Congress  may  by  general  laws  prescribe 
the  manner  in  which  such  acts,  records,  and  proceedings  shall 
be  proved,  and  the  eftect  thereof. 

Sec.  2.  Tlie  citizens  of  each  State  shall  be  entitled  to  all 
privileges  and  immunities  of  citizens  in  the  several  States. 

A  person  charged  in  any  State  with  treason,  felony,  or  other 
crime,  who  shall  ilec  from  justice,  and  be  found  in  another  State, 
.shall,  on  demand  of  the  executive  authority  of  the  State  from 
which  he  iled,  be  delivered  up,  to  be  removed  to  the  State  having 
jurisdiction  of  the  crime. 

No  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  State,  under  the 
law^s  thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall,  in  consequence  of  any 
law  or  regulation  therein,  be  discharged  from  such  service  or 
labor,  but  shall  be  delivered  up  on  claim  of  the  party  to  vi'hom 
such  service  or  labor  may  be  due. 

Sec.  .').  New  States  may  be  admitted  by  the  Congress  into 
this  Union ;  but  no  new  State  shall  be  formed  or  erected  within 


THK   CONSTITUTION.  21 

the  jurisdiction  of  any  other  State;  nor  any  State  be  formed  by 
the  junction  of  two  or  more  States,  or  parts  of  States,  without 
the  consent  of  the  Legislatures  of  the  States  concerned,  as  well 
as  of  the  Congress. 

The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  and  make  all  need- 
ful rules  and  regulations  respecting  the  territory  or  other  prop- 
erty belonging  to  the  United  States;  and  nothing  in  this  Consti- 
tution shall  be  so  construed  as  to  prejudice  any  claims  of  the 
United  States,  or  any  particular  State. 

Sec.  4.  The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  State  in 
this  Union  a  republican  form  of  Government,  and  shall  protect 
each  of  them  against  invasion;  and  on  application  of  the  Leg- 
islature, or  of  the  Executive  (when  the  Legislature  can  not  be 
convened,)  against  domestic  violence. 

ARTICLE    V. 

The  Congress,  whenever  two-thirds  of  both  House  shall  deem 
it  necessary,  shall  propose  amendments  to  the  Constitution,  or, 
on  the  application  of  the  Legislatures  of  two-thirds  of  the  sev- 
eral States,  shall  call  a  Convention  for  proposing  amendments, 
which,  in  either  case,  shall  be  valid  to  all  intents  and  purposes, 
as  part  of  this  Constitution,  when  ratified  by  the  Legislatures  of 
three-fourths  of  the  several  States,  or  by  Conventions  in  three- 
fourths  thereof,  as  the  one  or  the  other  mode  of  ratification  may 
be  proposed  by  the  Congress;  Provided,  that  no  amendment 
which  may  be  made  prior  to  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred and  eight  shall  in  any  manner  affect  the  first  and  fourth 
clauses  in  the  ninth  section  of  the  first  article ;  and  that  no  State, 
without  its  consent,  shall  be  deprived  of  its  equal  suffrage  in  the 
Senate. 

ARTICLE   VI. 

All  debts  contracted  and  engagements  entered  into  before  the 
adoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall  be  as  valid  against  the  United 
States,  under  this  Constitution,  as  under  the  Confederation. 

This  Constitution  and  the  laws  of  the  United  States  which  shall 
be  made  in  pursuance  thereof;  and  all  Treaties  made,  or  which 
shall  be  made,  under  the  authority  of  the  United  States,  shall 
be  the  supreme  law  of  the  land;  and  the  Judges  in  every  State 
shall  be  bound  thereby,  anything  in  the  Constitution  or  laws 
of  any  State  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

The  Senators  and  Eepresentatives  before  mentioned,  and  the 
members  of  the  several  State  Legislatures,  and  all  executive  and 
judicial  oflicers,  both  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  several 
States,  shall  be  bound  by  oath  or  affirmation  to  support  this  Con- 
stitution; but  no  religious  test  shall  ever  be  required  as  a  quali- 
fication to  any  office  or  public  trust  under  the  United  States. 


22 


TllK   CONSTITUTIOK. 


ARTICLE    vn. 

Tlie  ratification  of  the  Conventions  of  nine  .States  shall  be 
Buflii'ient  fur  the  establishment  of  this  Constitution  between 
the  States  so  ratifyin^i;  the  same. 

Do.NF.  in  Convention,  by  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  States 
present,  the  seventeenth  day  of  September,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-seven,  and  of  the 
Independence  of  the  United  States  of  America  the  tvrelfth.  In 
Witness  whereof,  we  have  hereunto  subscribed  our  names. 

^  GEO.  WASHINGTON, 
Fres't  and  Deputy  from  Virginia. 

New  Hampshire. 

Nicholas  Gilman. 

Massachusetts. 

KuFus  King. 

Connecticut. 

KoGER  Sherman. 

Netc   York. 


JouN  Langdon, 


Nathaniel  Gorham, 


Wm.  Saml.  Johnson, 


Alexander  Hamilton. 

WiL.  Livingston, 
Wm.  Paterson, 

a.  Franklin, 
RoBT.  Morris, 
Tho.  Fitzsimons, 
James  Wilson, 

Geo.  Head, 
John  ])ickin.son, 
Jaco.  Bkooji, 

James  M'Henrt, 
Danl.  Carroll, 

John  Blair, 

Wm.  Blount, 
Hu.  Williamson. 

J.  Kutledge, 
Charles  Pinckney, 

William  Few, 

Attest : 


New  Jersey. 

David  BREARLEr, 
Jona.  Dayton. 

Fennsylvania. 

Thomas  Mifflin, 
Geo.  Clymer, 
Jared  Ingersoll, 
Gouv.  Morris. 

Delaware. 

Gunning  Bedford,  Jun'b, 
Richard  Bassett. 


Maryland. 

Dan.  of  St. 


Thos.  Jenifer. 


Virginia. 

James  Madison,  Jr. 

North  Carolina. 

Rich'd  Dobbs  Spaight. 

South  Carolina. 

Charles  Cotesworth  Pincknby, 
Pierce  Butler. 
Georgia. 

Abr.  Baldwin. 
WILLIAM  JACKSON,  Secretary. 


TUB   CONSTITUTION.  23 


ARTICLES, 

In  addition  to,  and  amendment  of,  tho  Constitution  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  proposed  by  Congress,  and  ratified  by  the  Legislatures  of  the  several 
States,  pursuant  to  tho  fifth  article  of  tho  original  Constitution. 

ARTICLE    1 

Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of 
religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof;  or  abridging 
the  freedom  of  speech  or  of  the  press;  or  the  riglitof  the  people 
peaceably  to  assemble,  and  to  petition  the  Government  for  a 
redress  of  grievances. 

ARTICLE    IL 

A  well-regulated  Militia  being  necessary  to  the  security  of  a 
free  State,  the  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and  bear  arms  shall 
not  be  infringed. 

ARTICLE    III. 

Ivo  soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace,  be  quartered  in  any  house, 
without  the  consent  of  the  owner,  nor  in  time  of  war,  but  in  a 
manner  to  be  prescribed  by  law. 

ARTICLE   IV. 

The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons,  houses, 
papers,  and  effects,  against  unreasonable  searches  and  seizures, 
shall  not  be  violated,  and  no  warrant  shall  issue  but  upon  prob- 
able cause,  supported  by  oath  or  affirmation,  and  particularly 
describing  the  place  to  be  searched,  and  the  persons  or  things 
to  be  seized. 

ARTICLE   V. 

No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital,  or  otherwise 
infomous  crime,  unless  on  a  presentment  or  indictment  of  a 
Grand  Jury,  except  in  cases  arising  in  the  land  or  naval  forces, 
or  in  the  militia,  when  in  actual  service  in  time  of  war  or  pub- 
lic danger  ;  nor  shall  any  person  be  subject  for  the  same  offence 
to  be  twice  put  in  jeopardy  of  life  or  limb;  nor  shall  be  com- 
pelled in  any  criminal  case  to  be  a  witness  against  himself,  nor 
be  deprived  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process  of 
law ;  nor  shall  private  property  be  taken  for  public  use  without 
just  compensation. 

ARTICLE   VI. 

In  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused  shall  enjoy  the  right 
to  a  speedy  and  public  trial,  by   an   impartial  jury  of  the  State 
and  district   wherein    the    crime   shall   have   been    committed, 
which  district  shall   have   been   previously   ascertained  by  law 
and  to  be  informed  of  the  nature   and  cause   of  the  accusation 
to  be  confronted  with  the  witnesses  against  him ;    to  have  com- 


24  THI4   0ON3TITUT10N. 

pulsory  process  for  obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favor,  andtohavt^ 
the  assistance  of  counsel  for  his  defence. 

ARTICLE    VII. 

In  suits  at  common  Jaw,  where  the  value  in  controversey  shaH 
exceed  twenty  dollars,  the  right  of  trial  by  jury  shall  be  pre 
served,  and  no  fact  tried  by  a  jury  shall  be  otherwise  re-exam 
ined  in  any  Court  of  the  United  States,  than  according  to  th< 
rules  of  the  common  law. 

AUTICLB  VIII. 

Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive  fines  in* 
posed,  nor  cruel  and  unusual  punishments  inflicted. 

AKTICLK   IX. 

The  enumeration  in  the  Constitution  of  certain  rights,  shal 
no*  be  construed  to  deny  or  disparage  others  retained  by  tho 
people. 

ABTIOLB     X. 

The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the  Consti- 
tution, nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are  reserved  to  the 
States  respectively,  or  to  the  people. 

ARTICLE    XI. 

The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  not  be  con- 
strued to  extend  to  any  suit,  in  law  or  equity,  commenced  or 
prosecuted  against  one  of  the  United  States  by  citizens  of  an- 
other State,  or  by  citizens  or  subjects  of  any  foreign  State. 

ARTICLE    XII. 

The  Electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States,  and  vote 
by  ballot  for  President  and  Vice-President,  one  of  whom,  at 
least,  shall  not  be  an  inhabitant  of  tho  same  State  with  them- 
selves; they  shall  name  in  their  ballot  the  person  voted  for  as 
President,  and  in  distinct  bal]ot.s  the  person  voted  for  as  Vice- 
President,  and  they  shall  make  distinct  lists  of  all  persons 
voted  for  as  President,  and  all  persons  voted  for  as  Vice  Presi- 
dent, and  of  the  number  of  votes  for  each,  w!iich  lists  they 
shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit  sealed  to  the  seat  of  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States,  directed  to  the  President  ofthe 
Senate: — The  President  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  presence  of  the 
Senate  and  House  of  Kepresentatives,  open  all  the  certificates, 
and  the  votes  shall  then  be  counted;  The  person  having  tho 
greatest  number  of  votes  for  President,  shall  be  the  I'resident, 
if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  Electors 
appointed;  and  if  no  person  have  such  majority,  then  from  the 
persons  having   the  highest  numbers,  not  exceeding  three,  on 


THE   CONSTITUTI0X.  25 

the  list  of  those  voted  for  as  President,  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives shall  choose  iminediatelj  by  ballot  the  President. 
But  in  choosing  the  President,  the  votes  shall  be  taken  by 
States,  the  representation  from  each  State  having  one ;  a  quorum 
for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member  or  members  from 
two-thirds  of  the  States,  and  a  majority  of  all  the  States  shall 
be  necessary  to  a  choice.  And  if  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives shall  not  choose  a  President  whenever  the  right  of  choice 
shall  devolve  upon  them,  before  the  fourth  day  of  March  next 
following,  then  the  Vice-President  shall  act  as  President,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  death  or  other  constitutional  disability  of  the 
President.  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  as 
Vice-President,  shall  be  the  Vice-President,  if  such  number  be 
a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  Electors  appointed;  and  if 
no  person  have  a  majority,  then,  from  the  two  highest  numbers 
on  the  list,  the  Senate  shall  choose  the  Vice-President;  a  quo- 
rum for  the  purpose  shall  consist  of  two-thirds  of  the  whole 
number  of  Senators,  and  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  shall 
be  necessary  to  a  choice.  But  no  person  constitutionally  ineli- 
gible to  the  office  of  President,  shall  be  eligible  to  that  of  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States. 


The  Constitution  was  adopted  on  the  17th  of  September,  1787, 
by  the  Convention  appointed  in  pursuance  of  the  Resolution  of 
the  Congress  of  the  Confederation,  of  the  21st  February,  1787, 
and  ratified  by  the  Conventions  of  the  several  States,  as  follows: 

By  Convention  of  Delaware Tth  December,  1787 

"  "  Pennsylvania 12tb  December,  1787 

"  "  New  Jersey 18th  December,  1787 

"  "  Georgia....' 2d  January,  1788 

"  "  Connecticut 9th  January,  1788 

"  "  Massachusetts 6th  February,  1788 

"  "  Marvland 28th  April,  1788 

'■  '■'  South   Carolina I'Sd  May,  1788 

New  Hampshire 21st  June,  1788 

Virginia 26th  June,  1" 


a  II 


.  I! 


(1  II 


New  York 26th  July,  1788 

"  «  North  Carolina 2lst  November,  1789 

"  "  Rhode  Island 29th  May,  1790 


The  first  ten  of  the  Amendments  were  proposed  on  the  25th 
September,  1789,  and  ratified  by  the  constitutional  number  of 
States  on  the  15th  December,  1791;  the  eleventh,  on  the  8th 
January,  1798  ;  and  the  twelfth,  on  the  25th  September,  1804. 


WASHINGTOFS  ADDRESSES. 


There  were  not  many  occasions  during  his  public  career  that 
Washington  was  called  upon  to  exercise  his  abilities  as  a  writer 
or  an  orator;  but  when  such  o^tjasion  did  occur,  he  always  ac- 
quitted himself  with  a  degree  of  perspicuity  and  modesty  which 
may  be  said  to  have  been  characteristic  of  himself  alone.  The 
addresses  which  follow  mark,  as  it  were,  four  distinct  epochs  in 
the  history  of  this  unexampled  man: — the  first,  when  he  ac- 
cepted the  command  of  the  armies  by  which  our  national  inde- 
pendence was  achieved;  the  second,  when  he  surrendered  his 
commission,  after  having  driven  the  foes  of  freedom  from  his 
beloved  country;  the  third,  when  he  assumed  the  responsible 
duties  of  president,  ia  which  office  his  high  qualities  for  civil 
government  were  as  conspicuous  as  had  been  his  military  tal- 
ents in  the  field;  and  fourth,  when  he  resigned  his  great  trust, 
and  took  leave  of  the  people  in  his  imperishable  "P'arewell 
Address,"  an  inestimable  legacy,  which  can  not  be  too  frequently 
conned  by  every  American  who  values  his  birthright. 

Washington's  election  as  commander-in-chief. 
On  the  loth  of  June,  1775,  "Washington  was  unanimously 
elected  by  Congress  to  "  command  all  the  Continental  forces 
raised,  or  to  be  raised,  for  the  defence  of  American  liberty," 
and  when  he  appeared  in  his  place  the  next  day,  the  President 
of  that  body  acquainted  him  with  his  election,  in  a  well-timed 
address,  "  and  requested  that  he  should  accept  of  that  employ- 
ment;" to  which  Washington  replied  as  follows: 

"Mk.  President:  Though  1  am  truly  sensible  of  the  high 
honor  done  me,  in  this  appointment,  yet  I  feel  great  distress, 
from  consciousness  that  my  abilities  and  military  experience 
may  not  be  equal  to  the  extensive  and  important  trust:  How- 
ever, as  the  Congress  desire  it,  I  will  enter  upon  the  momentous 
duty,  and  exert  every  power  I  possess  in  their  service,  and  for 
support  of  the  glorious  cause.  I  beg  they  will  accept  my  most 
cordial  thanks  for  this  distinguished  testimony  of  their  appro- 
bation. 

"But,  lest  some  unlucky  event  should  happen,  unfavorable  to 

(26) 


Washington's  addeesses.  27 

my  reputation,  1  beg  it  may  be  remembered,  by  every  gentle- 
man in  the  room,  that  I,  this  day,  dechire,  with  the  utmost  sin- 
cerity, I  do  not  think  myself  equal  to  the  command  1  am  hon- 
ored with. 

"As  to  pay,  sir,  1  beg  leave  to  assure  the  Congress,  that,  as 
no  pecuniary  consideration  could  have  tempted  me  to  accept 
this  arduous  employment,  at  the  expense  of  my  domestic  ease 
and  happiness,  1  do  not  wish  to  make  any  profit  from  it.  I  will 
keep  an  exact  account  of  my  expenses.  Those,  I  doubt  not 
they  will  discharge,  and  that  is  all  1  desire." 


WASHINGTON  S   RESIGNATION   OF   HIS   COMMISSION, 

The  War  of  the  Revolution  having  terminated  auspiciously, 
Washington  took  leave  of  his  officers  and  army  at  New  York, 
and  repaired  to  Annapolis,  ^Md.,  where  Congress  was  then  in 
session.  On  the  20th  of  December,  1783,  he  transmitted  a  letter 
to  that  body,  apprising  them  of  his  arrival,  with  the  intention  of 
resigning  his  commission,  and  desiring  to  know  whether  it 
would  be  most  agreeable  to  receive  it  in  writing  or  at  an  audi- 
ence. It  was  immediately  resolved  that  a  public  entertainment 
be  given  him  on  the  22d,  and  that  he  be  admitted  to  an  audience 
on  the  23d,  at  12  o'clock.  Accordingly  he  attended  at  that  time, 
and,  being  seated,  the  President  informed  him  that  Congress 
were  prepared  to  receive  his  communications.  Whereupon  he 
arose,  and  spoke  as  follows : 

"Mr.  President:  The  great  events  on  which  my  resignation 
depended  having  at  length  taken  place,  I  have  now  the  honor  of 
offering  my  sincere  congratulations  to  Congress,  and  of  pre- 
senting myself  before  them,  to  surrender  into  their  hands  the 
trust  committed  to  me,  and  to  claim  the  indulgence  of  retiring 
from  the  service  of  my  country. 

"Happy  in  the  confirmation  of  our  independence  and  sover- 
eignty, and  pleased  with  the  opportunity  afforded  the  United 
States  of  becoming  a  respectable  nation,  1  resign  with  satisfac- 
tion the  appointment  I  accepted  with  diffidence:  a  diffidence  in 
my  abilities  to  accomplish  so  arduous  a  task;  which  however 
was  superseded  by  a  confidence  in  the  rectitude  of  our  cause, 
the  support  of  the  supreme  power  of  the  Union,  and  the  patron- 
age of  Heaven. 

"The  successful  termination  of  the  war  has  verified  the  most 
sanguine  expectations;  and  my  gratitude   for  the   interposition 
of  Providence,  and  the  assistance  1  have  received  from  my  coun 
trymen,  increases  with  every  review  of  the  momentous  contest. 

"  While  1  repeat  my   obligations    to    the    army  in  general,  1 


28  Washington's   auukkssks. 

should  do  injustice  to  my  own  reelinsx.s  not  to  acknowledge,  in 
this  place,  the  peculiar  services  and  distinguished  mrrits  of  the 
gentlemen  who  have  been  attached  to  my  person  during  the 
war.  It  was  impossible  the  choice  of  confidential  oiiiet^rs  to  com- 
pose my  family  should  have  been  more  fortunate.  Pei'mic  me, 
sir,  to  recommend,  in  particular,  those  who  have  continued  in 
the  service  to  the  present  moment,  as  worthy  of  the  favorable 
notice  and  patronage  of  Congress. 

"1  consider  it  an  indispensable  duty  to  close  this  last  act  of 
my  official  life  by  commending  the  interests  of  our  dearest 
country  to  the  protection  of  Almighty  God,  and  those  who  have 
the  superintendence  of  them  to  his  holy  keeping. 

"Having  now  finished  the  work  assigned  mc,  J  retire  from  the 
great  theatre  of  action,  and  bidding  an  affectionate  farewell  to 
this  august  body,  under  whose  orders  I  ha\  e  so  long  acted,  1 
here  oli'er  my  commission,  and  take  my  leave  of  all  the  employ- 
ments of  public  life." 

Washington's  inaugural   address. 

In  accordance  with  previous  arrangements,  (jcueral  Wash- 
ington met  Congress  in  New  York  on  the  oOth  of  April,  1789, 
for  the  purpose  of  being  inaugurated  as  the  first  President  of 
the  United  States.  The  oath  of  office  having  been  administered 
by  the  Chancellor  of  the  State  of  New  York,  in  presence  of  the 
Senate  and  House  of  Keprosentatives,  the  President  delivered 
the  following  Inaugural  Address: 

'■'■  Felloic- Citizens  of  Ihe  Senate,  and  of  the  Houae  of 
Representatives : 

"Among the  vicissitudes  incident  to  life,  no  event  could  have 
filled  me  with  greater  anxieties  than  that  of  whicii  the  notifica- 
tion was  transmitted  by  your  order,  and  received  on  the  14th 
day  of  the  present  month.  On  the  one  hand,  1  was  summoned 
})y  my  country,  whose  voice  I  can  never  hear  but  with  venera- 
tion and  love,  from  a  retreat  which  1  had  chosen  with  the  fond- 
est predilection,  and,  in  my  flattering  hopes,  with  an  immuta- 
ble decision,  as  the  asylum  of  my  declining  years;  a  retreat 
which  was  rendered  every  day  more  necessary,  as  well  as  more 
dear  to  me,  by  the  addition  of  habit  to  inclination,  and  of  frc- 
(juent  interruptions  in  my  health,  to  the  gradual  waste  commit- 
ted on  it  by  time.  On  the  other  hand,  the  magnitude  and  diffi- 
culty of  the  trust  to  wliicli  the  voice  of  my  country  called  me, 
being  sufficient  to  awaken  in  the  wisest  and  most  experienced 
of  her  citizens  a  distrustful  scrutiny  into  his  qualifications, 
could  not  but  overwhelm  with  despondency  one,  who,  inheriting 


Washington's   addresses.  29 

inferior  endowments  i^rom  nature,  and  unpi-acticed  in  the  duties 
of  civil  iidministration,  oui^lit  to  be  peculiarly  conscious  of  his 
own  deliciencies.  In  this  conflict  of  emotions,  all  I  dare  aver, 
is,  that  it  has  been  my  faithful  study  to  collect  my  duty  from  a 
just  appreciation  of  every  circumstance  by  which  it  might  be 
affected.  All  I  dare  hope,  is,  that  if,  in  .executing  this  task,  1 
have  been  too  much  swayed  by  a  grateful  remembrance  of 
former  instances,  or  by  an  afiectionate  sensibility  to  this  tran- 
scendent proof  of  the  confidence  of  my  fellow-citizens,  and  have 
thence  too  little  consulted  my  incapacity  as  well  as  disinclina- 
tion for  the  weighty  and  untried  cares  before  me-,  my  error  will 
be  palliated  by  the  motives  which  misled  me,  and  its  conse- 
quences be  judged  by  my  country,  with  some  share  of  the  par- 
tiality in  Avhich  they  originated. 

"Such  being  the  impressions  under  which  I  have,  in  obedi- 
ence to  the  public  summons,  repaired  to  the  present  station,  it 
would  be  peculiarly  improper  to  omit,  in  this  first  ofiicial  act, 
my  fervent  supplications  to  that  Almighty  Being  who  rules 
over  the  universe — who  presides  in  the  councils  of  nations — and 
whose  providential  aids  can  supply  every  human  defect,  that 
his  benediction  may  consecrate  to  the  liberties  and  happiness 
of  the  people  of  the  United  States,  a  government  instituted  by 
themselves  for  these  essential  purposes;  and  may  enable  every 
instrument  employed  in  its  administration  to  execute  with  suc- 
cess the  functions  allotted  to  his  charge.  In  tendering  this 
homage  to  the  Great  Author  of  every  public  and  private  good,  I 
assure  myself  that  it  expresses  your  sentiments  not  less  than 
my  own;  nor  those  of  my  fellow-citizens  at  large,  less  than 
cither.  No  people  can  be  bound  to  acknowledge  and  adore  the 
invisible  hand  which  conducts  the  affairs  of  men,  more  than  the 
people  of  the  United  States.  Every  step  by  which  they  have 
advanced  to  the  character  of  an  independent  nation,  seems  to 
have  been  distinguished  by  some  token  of  providential  agency ; 
and  in  the  important  revolution  just  accomplished  in  the  system 
their  united  government,  the  tranquil  deliberations,  and  volun- 
tary consent  of  so  many  distinct  communities,  from  which  the 
event  has  resulted,  can  not  be  compared  with  the  means  by 
which  most  governments  have  been  established,  without  some 
return  of  pious  gratitude,  along  with  an  humble  anticipation  of 
the  future  blessings  which  the  past  seem  to  presage.  These 
reflections,  arising  out  of  the  present  crisis,  have  forced  them- 
selves too  strongly  on  my  mind  to  be  suppressed.  You  will 
join  with  me,  1  trust,  in  thinking  that  there  are  none,  under  the 
influence  of  which  the  proceedings  of  a  new  and  free  govern- 
ment can  m.ore  auspiciously  commence. 

"  By  the  article  establishing   the    executive  department,  it  is 
made  the  duty  of  the  President  *to  recommend  to  your  consid- 


;;0  WASHINGTON  S     ADOKESSKS. 

eration  such  measures  as  he  shall  judge  uecessary  and  expedi- 
eut."  The  circumstances  under  which  1  now  meet  you  will  ac- 
quit me  fi-oia  not  entering  into  th;it  subject,  lartiier  tiian  to  rc- 
ler  to  the  sreat  constitutional  charter  under  -which  you  are  as- 
sembled; and  which,  in  dehning  your  powers,  designates  the 
objects  to  which  your  attention  is  to  be  given,  it  will  be  more 
consistent  with  those  circumstances,  and  far  more  congenial 
with  the  i'cclings  which  actuate  me,  to  substitute,  in  place  of  a 
recommendation  of  particular  measures,  the  tribute  that  is  due 
to  the  talents,  the  rectitude,  and  the  patriotism,  which  adorn 
the  characters  selected  to  devise  and  adopt  them.  In  these 
honorable  qualifications  1  behold  the  surest  pledges  that,  as  on 
one  side,  no  local  prejudices  or  attachments,  no  separate  views, 
nor  party  animosities,  will  misdirect  the  comprehensive  and 
equal  eye  which  ought  to  watch  over  this  great  assemblage  of 
communities  and  interests;  so,  on  anothci-,  that  the  foundations 
of  our  national  policy  will  be  laid  in  the  pure  and  immutable 
principles  of  private  morality;  and  the  pre-eminence  of  free 
government  be  exempliiied  by  all  the  attributes  which  can  win 
the  aiiections  of  its  citizens,  and  command  the  respect  of  the 
world.  1  dwell  on  this  prospect  with  every  satisfaction  vvhich 
an  ardent  love  for  my  country  can  inspire:  since  there  is  no 
truth  more  thoroughly  established,  than  that  there  exists  in  the 
economy  and  course  of  nature  an  indissoluble  union  between 
virtue  and  happiness — between  duty  and  advantage — between 
the  genuine  maxims  of  an  honest  and  magnanimous  policy,  and 
the  solid  rewards  of  public  prosperity  and  felicity;  since  we_ 
ought  to  be  no  less  persuaded  that  the  propitious  smiles  of 
Heaven  can  never  be  expected  on  a  nation  that  disregards  the 
eternal  rules  of  order  and  right,  which  Heaven  itself  has  or- 
dained; and  since  the  preservation  uf  the  sacred  fire  of  liberty, 
and  the  destiny  of  tne  republican  model  of  government,  are 
justly  considered  as  deeply,  perhaps  as  finally,  staked  on  the 
experiment  entrusted  to  the  hands  of  the  American  people. 

"Besides  the  ordinary  objects  submitted  to  your  care,  it  will 
remain  with  your  judgment  to  decide,  how  far  an  exercise  of 
the  occasional  power  delegated  by  the  fifth  article  of  the  Con- 
stitution is  rendered  expedient  at  the  present  juncture,  by  the 
nature  of  objections  AThich  have  been  urged  against  the  sys- 
tem, or  by  the  degree  of  inquietude  which  has  given  birth  to 
them.  Instead  of  undertaking  particular  recommendations  on 
this  subject,  in  which  I  could  be  guided  by  no  lights  derived 
from  official  opportunities,  1  shall  again  give  way  to  my  entire 
confidence  in  your  discernment  and  pursuit  of  the  public  good; 
for,  I  assure  myself,  that  whilst  you  carefully  avoid  every  alter- 
ation which  might  endanger  the  benefits  of  an  united  and  effect- 
ive government,  or  which  ought  to  await  the  future  lessons  of 


WASHINGTON  S     ADDRESSES.  31 

experience,  a  reverence  for  the  chiiracteristic  rights  of  free- 
men, and  a  regard  for  the  public  harmony,  will  sufficiently  in- 
fluence your  deliberations  on  the  question,  liow  far  the  former 
can  be  more  impregnably  fortified,  or  the  latter  be  safely  and 
advantageously  promoted. 

"To  the  preceding  observations  I  have  one  to  add,  which  will 
be  most  properly  addressed  to  the  Uouse  of  Representatives. 
It  concerns  myself,  and  will,  therefore,  be  as  brief  a^  possible, 
When  I  was  first  honored  with  a  call  into  the  service  of  m}- 
country,  then  on  the  eve  of  an  arduous  struggle  for  its  liberties, 
the  light  in  which  I  contemplated  my  duty  required  that  1 
should  renounce  every  pecuniary  compensation.  From  this 
resolution  I  have  in  no  instance  departed  ;  and  being  still  under 
the  impressions  which  produced  it,  I  must  decline,  as  inapplica- 
ble to  myself,  any  share  in  the  personal  emoluments  which  may 
be  indispensably  included  in  a  permanent  provision  for  the 
executive  department;  and  must  accordingly  pray  that  the  pe- 
cuniary estimates  for  the  station  in  which  I  am  placed,  may, 
during  my  continuance  in  it,  be  limited  to  such  actual  expendi- 
tures as  the  public  good  may  be  thought  to  require. 

"Having  thus  imparted  to  you  my  sentiments,  as  they  have 
been  awakened  by  the  occasion  which  brings  us  together,  1 
shall  take  my  present  leave ;  but  not  without  resorting  once 
moi;^  to  the  benign  Parent  of  the  human  race,  in  humble  sup- 
plication, that,  since  he  has  been  pleased  to  favor  the  American 
people  with  opportunities  for  deliberating  in  perfect  tranquility, 
and  dispositions  for  deciding,  with  unparalleled  unanimity,  on 
a  form  of  government  for  the  security  of  their  Union,  and  the 
advancement  of  their  happiness,  so  his  Divine  blessing  may  be 
equally  conspicuous  in  the  enlarged  views,  the  temperate  con- 
sultations, and  the  wise  measures,  on  which  the  success  of  this 
government  must  depend. 


WASHINGTON'S  FAREWELL  ADDRESS. 


Friends  and  Fellow- Citizens : 

The  period  for  a  new  election  of  a  citizen  to  administer  the 
Executive  Government  of  the  United  iStates  being  not  far  dis- 
tant, and  the  time  actually  arrived  when  your  thoughts  must  be 
employed  in  designating  the  person  who  is  to  be  clothed  with 
that  important  trust,  it  appears  to  me  proper,  especially  as  it 
may  conduce  to  a  more  distinct  expression  of  the  public  voice, 
that  1  should  now  apprise  you  of  the  resolution  I  have  formed, 
to  decline  being  considered  among  the  number  of  those  out  of 
whom  a  choice  is  to  be  made. 

I  beg  you,  at  the  same  time,  to  do  me  the  justice  to  be  assured 
that  this  resolution  has  not  been  taken  withont  a  strict  regard 
to  all  the  considerations  appertaining  to  the  relation  which  binds 
a  dutiful  citizen  to  his  country;  and  that,  in  withdrawing  the 
tender  of  service,  which  silence,  in  my  situation  might  imply,  I 
am  influenced  by  no  diminution  of  zeal  for  your_  future  interest  j 
no  deficiency  of  grateful  respect  fur  your  past  kindness;  but  am 
supported  by  a  full  conviction  that  the  step  is  compatible  with 
both. 

The  acceptance  of,  and  continuance  hitherto  in,  the  office  to 
which  your  suCTrages  have  twice  called  nie,  have  been  a  uniform 
sacrifice  of  inclination  to  the  opinion  of  duty,  and  to  a  deference 
for  what  appeared  to  be  your  desire.  1  constantly  hoped  that  it 
would  have  been  much  earlier  in  my  power,  consistently  with 
motives  which  I  was  not  at  liberty  to  disregard,  to  return  to  that 
retirement  from  which  1  had  been  reluctantly  drawn.  The 
strength  of  my  inclination  to  do  this,  previous  to  the  last  elec- 
tion, had  even  led  to  the  preparation  of  an  address  to  declare  it 
to  you ;  but  mature  reflection  on  the  then  perplexed  and  criti- 
cal posture  of  our  affairs  with  foreign  nations,  and  the  unani- 
mous advice  of  persons  entitled  to  my  conlidcnce,  impelled  me 
to  abandon  the  idea. 

I  rejoice  tliat  the  state  of  your  concerns,  external  as  well  aa 
internal,  no  longer  renders  the  pursuit  of  inclination  incom- 
patible with  the  sentiment  of  duty  or  propriety;  and  am  per- 
auaded,  whatever  partiality  may  be  retained  for  my  services,  that, 

(32) 


WASniXGTON  S  FAUinVlUJ-  AUDKESS.  ■>■> 

in  the  present  circumstances  of  our  country,  you  will  not  dis- 
approve my  determination  to  retire. 

The  impressions  ■with  which  1  undertook  the  arduous  trust 
were  explained  on  the  proper  occasion.  In  the  discharge  of  this 
trust,  1  ^Yill  only  say,  that  1  have  with  good  intentions  contrib- 
uted towards  the  organization  and  administration  of  the  Gov- 
ernment the  best  exertions  of  which  a  very  fallible  judgment 
was  capable.  Not  unconscious  in  the  outset  of  the  inferiority 
of  my  qualilications,  experience,  in  my  own  eyes — perhaps  still 
more  iu  the  eyes  of  others — has  strengthened  the  motives  to 
diffidence  of  myself;  and  every  day  the  increasing  weight  of 
years  admonishes  me,  more  and  more,  that  the  shade  of  retire- 
ment is  as  necessary  to  me  as  it  will  be  welcome.  Satisfied  that 
if  an}'  circumstances  have  given  peculiar  value  to  my  services, 
they  were  temporary,  1  have  the  consolation  to  believe  that,  while 
choice  and  prudence  invite  me  to  quit  the  political  scene,  patri- 
otism does  not  forbid  it. 

In  looking  forward  to  the  moment  which  is  intended  to  ter- 
minate the  career  of  my  public  life,  my  feelings  do  not  permit 
me  to  suspend  the  deep  acknowledgment  of  that  debt  of  grati- 
tude which  I  owe  to  my  beloved  country  for  the  many  honors  it 
has  conferred  upon  me;  still  more  for  the  steadfast  confidence 
with  which  it  has  supported  me;  and  for  the  opportunities] 
have  thence  enjoyed  of  manifesting  my  inviolable  attachment, 
by  services  faithful  and  persevering,  though  in  usefulness  une- 
qual to  my  zeal.  If  benefits  have  resulted  to  our  country  from 
these  services,  let  it  ahvaj-s  be  remembered  to  your  praise,  and 
as  an  instructive  examplcHn  our  annals  that,  under  circumstances 
in  which  the  passions,  agitated  in  every  direction,  were  liable  to 
mislead;  an.idst  appearances  sometimes  dultious,  vicissitudes  of 
fortune  often  discouraging;  in  situations  in  which,  not  unfre- 
quently,  want  of  success  has  countenanced  the  spirit  of  criti- 
cism— the  constancy  of  your  support  was  the  essential  prop  of 
the  efforts,  and  a  guarantee  of  the  plans,  by  which  they  were 
effected.  Profoundly  penetrated  with  this  idea,  I  shall  carry  it 
with  me  to  my  grave,  as  a  strong  incitement  to  unceasing  vows, 
that  Heaven  may  continue  to  you  the  choicest  tokens  of  its  be- 
neficence; that  your  union  and  brotherly  affection  may  be  per- 
petual; that  the  free  Constitution,  which  is  the  work  of  your 
hands,  may  be  sacredly  maintained;  that  its  administration,  in 
every  department,  may  be  stamped  with  wisdom  and  virtue ;  thac. 
in  fine,  the  happiness  of  the  people  of  these  States,  under  the 
auspices  of  liberty,  may  be  made  complete,  by  so- careful  a  pres- 
ervation and  so  prudent  a  use  of  this  blessing  as- will  acquire  to 
them  the  glory  of  recommending  it  to  the  applause,  the  affection, 
and  the  adoption  of  every  nation  which  is  yet  a  stranger  to  it. 

ITere,  perhaps,  1  ought  to  stop;   but  a  solicitude  for  your  wel- 

3 


34  Washington's  faricwkli-  adlkess. 

fare,  which  c.in  not  end  but  with  my  life.  iinJ  the  apprehension 
of  danger  natural  to  that  solicitude,  urge  me,  on  an  occasion 
like  the  present,  to  offer  to  your  solemn  contemplation,  and  to 
recommend  to  3'our  frequent  review,  some  sentiments  which  aro 
the  result  of  much  reflection,  of  no  inconsiderable  observation, 
and  which  appear  to  me  all-important  to  the  permcnancy  of  our 
felicity  as  a  people.  These  will  be  afforded  to  you  with  the 
more  freedom,  as  you  can  only  see  in  them  the  disinterested 
warnings  of  a  parting  friend,  who  can  possibly  have  no  personal 
iMOtive  to  bias  his  counsel;  nor  can  1  forget,  as  an  encourage- 
ment to  it,  your  indulgent  reception  of  my  sentiments  or  a 
former  and  not  dissimilar  occasion. 

Interwoven  as  is  the  love  of  liberty  with  every  ligament  of 
of  your  hearts,  no  recommendation  of  mine  is  necessary  to  for- 
tify or  conBrm  the  attachment. 

The  unity  of  government,  which  constitutes  you  one  people, 
is  also  now  dear  to  you.  it  is  justly  so;  for  it  is  a  main  pillar 
in  the  edifice  of  your  real  independence — the  support  of  your 
tranquility  at  home,  your  peace  abroad,  of  your  safety,  of  your 
prospcrty,  of  that  very  liberty  which  you  so  highly  prize.  But  as 
it  is  ea?y  to  foresee  that,  from  dili'erent  causes  and  from  different 
quarters,  much  pains  will  be  taken,  many  artifices  employed,  to 
weaken  in  your  minds  the  conviction  jt'  tiiis  truth;  as  this  is 
the  point  in  your  political  fortress  agtiinst  which  the  batteries 
of  internal  ami  external  enemies  will  be  most  constantly  and 
actively  (tliough  often  covertly  and  insidiously)  directed — it  is 
of  infinite  moment  that  you  should  properly  estimate  the  im- 
mense value  of  your  National  Union  to  your  collective  and  indi- 
vidual happiness;  that  you  should  cherish  a  cordial,  habitual 
and  immoval  attachment  to  it;  accustoming  yourselves  to  think 
and  speak  of  it  as  of  the  palladium  of  your  political  safety  and 
prosperity;  watching  for  its  preservation  witfi  jealous  anxiety; 
discountenancing  whatever  may  suggest  even  a  suspicion  that  it 
can,  in  any  event,  be  abandoned;  and  indignantly  frowning 
upon  the  first  dawning  of  every  attempt  to  alienate  any  portion 
of  our  country  from  the  rest,  or  to  enfeeble  the  sacred  ties  which 
now  link  together  the  various  parts. 

For  this  you  have  every  inducement  of  sympathy  and  interest 
Citizens  by  birth  or  choice,  of  a  common  country,  that  country 
lias  a  right  to  concentrate  your  affections.  The  name  of  Amei-- 
lean,  which  belongs  to  you  in  your  national  capacity,  must  al- 
ways exalt  the  just  pride  of  patriotism,  more  than  any  appella- 
tion derived  from  local  discriminations.  With  slight  shades  of 
diiTercncc,  you  have  the  same  religion,  manners,  habits,  and 
political  principles.  You  have,  in  a  common  cause,  fought  and 
triumphed  together;  the  independence  and  liberty  you  possess 


Washington's  fakkwkll   address.  35 

are  the  wurk  of  joint  counsels  and  joint  efforts — of  common 
dangers,  sufferings  and  successes. 

But  these  considerations,  however  powerfully  they  address 
themselves  to  your  sensibility,  are  greatly  outweighed  by  those 
which  apply  more  immediately  to  your  interest;  here  every  por- 
tion of  our  country  finds  the  most  commanding  motives  for  care- 
fully guarding  and  preserving  the  union  of  the  whole. 

The  North,  in  an  unrestrained  intercourse  with  the  South, 
protected  by  the  equal  laws  of  a  common  government,  finds,  in 
the  productions  of  the  latter,  great  additional  resources  of  mar- 
itime and  commercial  enterprise,  and  prescious  materials  of 
manufacturing  industry.  The  South,  in  the  same  intercourse, 
benefiting  by  the  agency  of  the  North,  sees  its  agriculture  grow 
and  its  commerce  expand.  Turning  partly  into  its  own  chan- 
nels the  seamen  of  the  North,  it  finds  its  particular  navigation 
invigorated;  and  while  it  contributes,  in  different  ways,  to  nour- 
ish and  increase  the  general  mass  of  the  national  navigation,  it 
looks  forward  to  the  protection  of  a  maritime  strength  to  which 
itself  is  unequally  adapted.  The  East,  in  like  intercourse  with 
the  West,  already  finds,  and  in  the  progressive  improvement  of 
interior  communication,  by  land  and  water,  will  more  and  more 
find,  a  valuable  vent  for  the  commodities  which  it  brings  from 
abroad,  or  manufactures  at  home.  The  West  derives  from  the 
East  sujjplies  requisite  to  its  growth  and  comfort;  and  what  is 
perhaps  of  still  greater  consequence,  it  must,  of  necessity,  owe 
the  secure  enjoyment  of  indispensable  outlets  for  its  own  pro- 
ductions, to  the  weight,  influence,  and  tlie  future  maritime 
strength  of  die  Atlantic  side  of  the  Union,  directed  by  an  indis- 
soluble community  of  interest  as  one  nation.  Any  other  tenure 
by  which  the  West  can  hold  this  essential  advantage,  whether 
derived  from  its  own  separate  strength,  or  from  an  apostate  and 
unnatural  connection  with  any  foreign  power,  must  be  intrinsi- 
cally precarious. 

While,  then,  every  part  of  our  country  thus  feels  an  immedi- 
ate and  particular  interest  in  union,  all  the  parts  combined  can 
not  fail  to  find,  in  the  united  mass  of  means  and  efforts,  greater 
strength,  greater  resource,  proportionately  greater  security  from 
external  dangei',  a  less  frequent  interruption  of  their  peace  by 
foreign  nations;  and  what  is  of  inestimable  value,  they  must 
derive  from  union  an  exemption  from  those  broils  and  wars  be- 
tween themselves,  which  so  frequently  afilict  neighboring  coun- 
tries, not  tied  together  by  the  same  government;  which  their 
own  rivalships  alone  would  be  sufficient  to  produce,  but  which 
opposite  foreign  alliances,  attachments,  and  intrigues,  would 
stimulate  and  embitter.  Hence,  likewise,  they  will  avoid  the 
necessity  of  those  overgrown  military  establishments,  which, 
under  any  form  of  government,  are  inauspicious  to  liberty,  and 


36  •WASniNGTON'S    FARE'W'ELL    ADDRESS. 

which  are  to  be  regarded  as  particularly  liostilo  to  republican 
liberty;  in  this  sense  it  is  that  your  union  ought  to  be  consid- 
ered as  a  main  prop  of  your  liberty,  and  that  the  love  of  the 
one  ought  to  endear  to  you  the  preservation  of  the  other. 

These  considerations  speak  a  persuasive  language  to  every 
reflecting  and  virtuous  mind,  and  exhibit  the  continuance  of  the 
Union  as  a  primary  object  of  patriotic  desire.  Is  there  a  doubt, 
whether  a  common  government  can  embrace  so  large  a  sphere? 
Let  experience  solve  it.  To  listen  to  mere  speculation,  in  such 
a  case,  were  criminal.  ^Ye  are  authorized  to  hope,  that  a  proper 
organization  of  the  whole,  with  the  auxiliary  agency  of  govern- 
ments for  the  respective  subdivisions,  will  afford  a  happy  issue 
to  the  experiment.  It  is  well  worth  a  fair  and  full  experiment. 
With  such  powerful  and  obvious  motives  to  Union,  aOectiug  all 
parts  of  our  country,  while  experience  shall  not  have  demon- 
strated its  impracticability,  there  will  always  be  reason  to  dis- 
trust the  patriotism  of  those  who,  in  any  quarter,  may  endeavor 
to  weaken  its  bands. 

In  contemplating  the  causes  which  may  disturb  our  Union,  it 
occurs,  as  a  matter  of  serious  concern,  that  any  ground  should 
have  been  furnished  for  characterizing  parties  by  geographical 
discriminations — Northern  and  iSouthern — Atlantic  and  West- 
ern; whence  designing  men  may  endeavor  to  excite  a  belief 
that  there  is  a  real  difference  of  local  interests  and  views.  One 
of  the  expedients  of  party  to  acquire  influence  within  particular 
districts,  is  to  misrepresent  the  opinions  and  aims  of  other  dis- 
tricts. You  can  not  shield  yourself  too  much  against  the  jeal- 
ousies and  heart-burnings  which  spring  from  these  misrepresen- 
tations; they  tend  to  render  alien  to  each  other  those  who  ought 
to  be  bound  together  by  fraternal  affection.  The  inhabitants 
of  our  western  country  have  lately  had  a  useful  lesson  on  this 
head;  they  have  seen  in  the  negotiation  of  the  Executive,  and 
in  the  unanimous  ratification  by  the  Senate,  of  the  treaty  with 
Spain,  and  in  the  universal  satisfaction  at  that  event  throughout 
the  United  States,  a  decisive  proof  how  unfounded  were  the 
suspicions  propagated  among  them  of  a  policy  in  the  General 
Government,  and  in  the  Atlantic  States,  unfriendly  to  their  in- 
terests in  regard  to  the  Mississippi;  they  have  been  witnesses  to 
the  formation  of  two  treaties — that  with  Great  Britian,  and  that 
with  Spain — which  secure  to  them  every  thing  they  could  desire 
in  respect  to  our  foreign  relations,  towards  confirming  their 
prosperity.  Will  it  not  bo  their  wisdom  to  rely  for  the  preser- 
vation of  these  advantages  on  the  Union  by  which  they  were 
procured  ?  Will  they  not  henceforth  be  deaf  to  those  advisers, 
if  8uch  there  arc,  who  would  sever  them  from  their  brethren,  and 
connect  them  with  aliens? 

To  the  efficacy  and  permanency  of  your  Union,  a  Governn  ont 


Washington's   fauewell  address.  37 

for  the  whole  is  indispensable.  No  alliance,  however  .•strict  be- 
tween the  parts,  can  be  an  adequate  substitute;  they  must  in- 
evitably'experience  the  infractions  and  interruptions  which  all 
alliances,  in  all  time,  have  experienced.  Sensible  of  this  mo- 
mentous truth,  j'ou  have  improved  upon  your  first  essay,  by  the 
adoption  of  a  Constitution  of  Government  better  calculated  than 
your  former  for  an  intimate  Union,  and  for  the  efficacious  man- 
agement of  your  common  concerns.  This  Government,  the  off- 
spring of  our  own  choice,  uninfluenced  and  unawed,  adopted 
upon  full  investigation  and  mature  deliberation,  completely  free 
in  its  principles,  in  the  distribution  of  its  powers,  uniting  secu- 
rity with  energy,  and  containing  within  itself  a  provision  for  its 
own  amendment,  has  a  just  claim  to  your  confidence  and  your 
support.  Respect  its  authority,  compliance  with  its  laws,  acqui- 
escence in  its  measures,  are  duties  enjoined  by  the  fundamental 
maxims  of  true  liberty.  The  basis  of  eur  political  systems,  is 
the  right  of  the  people  to  make  and  to  alter  their  constitutions 
of  Government:  but  the  Constitution  which  at  any  time  exists, 
till  changed  by  an  explicit  and  authentic  act  of  the  whole  peo- 
ple, is  sacredly  obligatory  upon  all.  The  very  idea  of  the  power 
and  the  right  of  the  people  to  establish  Government,  pre-sup- 
poses  the  duty  of  every  individual  to  obey  the  established  Gov- 
ernment. 

All  obstructions  to  the  execution  of  the  laws,  all  combinations 
and  associations,  under  whatever  plausible  character,  with  the 
real  design  to  direct,  control,  counteract,  or  awe  the  regular  de- 
liberation and  action  of  the  eonstituted  authorities,  are  destruc- 
tive to  this  fundamental  principle,  and  of  fatal  tendency.  They 
serve  to  organize  faction,  to  give  it  an  artificial  and  extraordinary 
foiice,  to  put  in  the  place  of  the  delegated  will  of  the  nation,  the 
will  of  a  party,  often  a  small  but  artful  and  enterprising  minor- 
ity of  the  community;  and,  according  to  the  alternate  triumphs 
of  different  parties,  to  make  the  public  administration  the  mir- 
ror of  the  ill-concerted  and  incongruous  projects  of  faction, 
rather  than  the  organ  of  consistent  and  wholesome  plans,  digest- 
ed by  common  counsels,  and  modified  by  mutual  interests. 

However  combinations  and  associations  of  the  above  descrip- 
tion may  now  and  then  answer  popular  ends,  they  are  likely,  in 
the  course  of  time  and  things,  to  become  potent  engines,  by 
which  cunning,  ambitious,  and  unprincipled  men,  will  be  ena- 
l)led  to  subvert  the  power  of  the  people,  and  to  usurp  for  them- 
selves the  reins  of  Government;  destroying,  afterwards,  the  very 
engines  which  had  lifted  them  to  unjust  dominion. 

Towards  the  preservation  of  your  Government,  and  the  per- 
manency of  your  present  happy  state,  it  is  requisite,  not  only 
that  you  steadily  discountenance  irregular  oppositions  to  its 
acknowledged  authorit}^,  but  also  that  you  resist  with  care  the 


^U^ 


^iS7 


38  WASHINGTox's    FAHEWELL   ADDKESS. 

Spirit  of  innovation  upon  its  principles,  however  specious  the 
pretexts.  One  method  of  assault  may  be  to  effect,  in  the  forms 
Constitution,  alterations  which  will  impair  the  energy  of  the 
system,  and  thus  to  unvlcrmine  what  can  not  bo  directly  over- 
thrown. In  all  the  changes  to  which  you  may  be  invited,  re- 
member that  time  and  habit  arc  at  least  as  necessary  to  fix  the 
true  character  of  Governments  as  of  other  human  institutions; 
that  experience  is  the  surest  standard  by  which  to  test  the  real 
tendency  of  the  existing  constitution  of  a  country;  that  facility 
in  changes,  upon  the  credit  of  mere  hypothesis  and  opinion,  ex- 
poses to  perpetual  change,  from  the  endless  variety  of  hypothe- 
sis and  opinion;  and  remember,  especially,  that  for  the  efficient 
management  of  your  common  interests,  in  a  country  so  extensive 
as  ours,  a  Government  of  as  much  vigor  as  is  consistent  with 
the  perfect  security  of  liberty,  is  indispensable.  Liberty  itself 
will  find  in  such  a  Government,  with  powers  properly  distributed 
and  adjusted,  its  surest  guardian.  Jt  is  indeed,  little  else  tlian 
a  name,  where  the  Government  is  too  feeble  to  withstand  the 
enterprises  of  faction,  to  confine  each  member  of  the  society 
within  the  limits  prescribed  by  the  iTiws,  and  to  maintain  all  in 
the  secure  and  tranquil  enjoyment  of  the  rights  of  person  and 
property. 

—  I  have  already  intimated  to  you  the  danger  of  parties  in  the 
State,  with  particular  reference  to  the  founding  of  them  on  geo- 
graphical discriminations.  Let  me  now  take  a  more  compre- 
hensive view,  and  warn  j'ou,  in  the  most  solemn  manner,  against 
the  baneful  cQects  of  the  spirit  of  party  generally. 

This  spirit,  unfortunately,  is  inseperable  from  our  nature, 
having  its  root  in  the  strongest  passions  of  the  human  mind.  It 
exists  und.^r  different  sliapes,  in  all  Governments,  more  or  less 
stifled,  controlled,  or  repressed;  but  in  those  of  the  popular 
form  it  is  seen  in  its  greatest  rankness,  and  is  truly  their  worst 
enemy. 

The  alternate  domination  of  one  faction  over  another,  sharp- 
ened by  the  spirit  of  revenge,  natural  to  party  dissention,  which, 
in  different  ages  and  countries,  has  perpetrated  the  most  horrid 
enormities,  is  itself  a  frightful  despotism.  But  this  leads,  at  length, 
to  a  more  formal  and  permanent  despotism.  Tlio  disorders  and 
miseries  which  result,  gradually  incline  the  minds  of  men  to 
seek  security  and  repose  in  the  absolute  power  of  an  individual; 
and,  sooner  or  later,  the  chief  of  some  prevailing  faction,  more 
able  or  more  fortunate  than  his  competitors,  turns  this  disposi- 
tion to  the  purposes  of  his  own  elevation  on  the  ruins  of  public 
liberty. 

Without  looking  forward  to  an  extremity  of  this  kind,  (which, 
nevertheless,  ought  not  to  be  entirely  out  of  sight,)  the  common 
and  continual  mischiefs  of  the  spirit  of  party  are  sufficient  to 


Washington's   fakkwei.i,  aldiucss.  39 

make  it  the  interest  and  duty  of  a  wise  people  to  discourage  and 
restrain  it. 

It  serves  always  to  distract  tiie  public  counsels,  and  enfeeble 
the  public  administration.  It  agitates  the  community  with  ill- 
founded  jealousies  and  false  alarms;  kindles  the  animosities  of 
one  part  against  another;  foments,  occasionally,  riot  and  insur- 
rection. It  opens  the  door  to  foreign  influence  and  corruption, 
which  find  a  facilitated  access  to  the  Government  itself,  through 
the  channels  of  party  passions.  Thus  the  policy  and  the  will 
of  one  country  are  subjected  to  the  policy  and  will  of  another 

There  is  an  opinion  that  parties,  in  free  countries,  are  useful 
checks  upon  the  administration  of  the  Government,  and  serve 
to  keep  alive  the  spirit  of  liberty.  This,  within  certain  limits, 
is  probably  true;  and  in  Governments  of  a  monarchical  cast, 
patriotism  may  look  with  indulgence,  if  not  with  favor,  upon  the 
spirit  of  party.  But  in  those  of  the  popular  character,  in  Govern- 
ments purely  elective,  it  is  a  spirit  not  to  be  encouraged.  From 
their  natural  tendency,  it  is  certain  there  will  always  be  enough 
of  that  spirit  for  every  salutory  purpose.  And  there  being  con- 
stant danger  of  excess,  the  efibrt  ought  to  be,  by  force  of  public 
opinion,  to  mitigate  and  assuage  it.  A  fire  not  be  quenched,  it 
demands  a  uniform  vigilance  to  prevent  its  bursting  into  a  flame, 
lest,  instead  of  warming,  it  should  consume. 

It  is  important,  likewise,  that  the  habits  of  thinking,  in  a  free 
country,  should  inspire  caution  in  those  intrusted  with  its  ad- 
ministration to  confine  themselves  within  their  respective  con- 
stitutional spheres,  avoiding  in  the  exercise  of  one  department, 
to  encroach  upon  another.  The  spirit  of  encroachment  tends  to 
consolidate  the  powers  of  all  the  departments  in  one,  and  thus 
to  create,  whatever  the  form  of  Government,  a  real  despotism. 
A  just  estimate  of  that  love  of  power,  and  proneness  to  abuse  it 
which  predominates  in  the  human  heart,  is  sufBcicnt  to  satisfy 
us  of  the  truth  of  this  position.  The  necessity  of  reciprocal 
checks  in  the  exercise  of  political  power,  by  dividing  and  dis- 
tributing it  into  different  depositories,  and  constituting  each  the 
guardian  of  public  weal,  against  invasions  Ijy  the  others,  has 
been  evinced  by  experiments,  ancient  and  modern ;  some  of  them 
in  our  own  country,  and  under  our  own  eyes.  To  preserve  them 
must  be  as  necessary  as  to  institute  them.  If,  in  the  opinion  of 
the  people,  the  distribution  or  modification  of  the  constitutional 
powers  be,  in  any  particular,  wrong,  let  it  be  corrected  by  an 
amendment  in  the  way  which  the  Constitution  designates.  But 
let  there  be  no  change  by  usurpation;  for  though  this,  in  one 
instance,  may  be  the  instrument  of  good,  it  is  the  customary 
weapon  by  wiiioh  free  Governments  are  destroyed.  The  prece- 
dent must  ahva^'s  greatly  overbalance,  in  permanent  evil,  any 
partial  or  transient  benefit  which  the  use  can,  at  any  time,  yield. 


40  wasuixgton's   farewell  address. 

Of  all  the  dispositions  and  habits  which  lead  to  political  pros- 
perity, roli.L'iun  and  morality,  are  indispensalile  supports.  In 
vain  would  that  man  claim  the  tributa  of  patriotism,  wlio  .should 
labor  to  subvert  these  i^reat  pillars  of  human  happiness,  these 
firmest  props  of  the  duties  of  men  and  citizens.  'I'lie  mere  pol- 
itician, equally  with  the  pious  man,  ought  to  respect  and  to 
cherish  them.  A  volume  could  not  trace  all  their  connections 
with  private  and  public  felicity.  Let  it  simply  Ije  asked,  where 
is  the  security  for  property,  for  reputation,  for  life,  if  the  sense 
.d'  religious  obligation  desert  the  oaths  which  are  the  instruments 
i'  investigation  in  the  courts  of  justice  ?  And  let  us  with  cau- 
tion indulge  the  supposition,  that  morality  can  be  maintained 
without  religion.  AVhatever  may  be  conceded  to  the  iiilluence 
of  refined  education  on  minds  of  peculiar  structure,  reason  and 
experience  both  forbid  us  to  expect  that  national  morality  can 
prevail  in  exclusion  of  religious  principles. 

It  is  substantially  true,  that  virtue  or  morality  is  a  necessary 
spring  of  popular  (jlovernment.  The  rule,  indeed,  extends  with 
more  or  less  force  to  every  species  of  free  Government.  AVho, 
tliat  is  a  sincere  friend  to  it,  can  look  with  indiflerencc  upon 
attempts  to  shake  the  foundation  of  the  fabric? 

Promote,  then,  as  an  object  of  primary  importance,  institu- 
tions for  the  general  diffusion  of  knowledge.  In  proportion  as 
the  structure  of  a  (Government  gives  force  to  public  opinion,  it  is 
essential  that  public  opinion  should  be  enlightened. 

As  a  very  important  source  of  strength  and  security,  cherish 
public  credit.  One  method  to  preserve  it  is  to  use  it  as  spar- 
ingly as  possible;  avoiding  occasions  of  expense  by  cultivating 
peace,  but  remembering  also  that  timely  disbursements  to  pre- 
pare for  danger,  frequently  prevent  much  greater  disbursements 
to  repel  it;  avoiding,  likewise,  the  accumulation  of  debt,  not 
only  by  shunning  occasions  of  expense,  Ijut  by  vigorous  exer- 
tions in  time  of  peace  to  discharge  the  debts  which  unavoidable 
wars  may  have  occasioned;  not  ungenerously  throwning  upon 
posterity  the  burden  which  avc  ourselves  ought  to  bear.  The 
execution  of  these  maxims  belongs  to  your  representatives,  but 
it  is  necessary  that  puidic  opinion  should  co-operate.  To  facil- 
itate to  thcjn  the  performance  of  their  duty,  it  is  essential  that 
you  should  practically  bear  in  mind,  that  towards  the  payment 
(d'  debts  there  must  be  revenue;  that  to  have  revenue  there  must 
be  taxes;  that  no  taxes  can  be  devised,  which  are  not  more  or 
less  inconvenient  and  unpleasant;  that  the  intrinsic  embarrass- 
ment inseparable  from  the  selection  of  the  proper  objects  (which 
is  always  a  choice  of  difficulties,)  ought  to  be  a  decisive  motive 
for  a  candid  construction  cd'  the  conduct  of  the  Government  in 
making  it,  and  for  a  spirit  of  acquiscencc  in  the  measures  for 


•wasiiixgton's  farewell   address.  41 

obtaining  revenue,  which  the  public  exigencies  ma}'  at  that  time 
dictate. 

Observe  good  faiih  and  justice  towards  all  nations;  cultivate 
peace  and  harmony  with  all;  religion  and  morality  enjoin  this 
conduct;  and  can  it  be  that  good  policy  does  rot  equally  enjoin 
it?  It  will  be  worthy  of  a  tree,  enlightened,  and,  at  no  distant 
period,  a  great  nation,  to  give  to  mankind  the  magnanimous  and 
too  novel  example  of  a  people  always  guided  by  an  exalted  jus- 
tice and  benevolence.  Who  can  doubt  that,  in  the  course  time 
and  things,  the  fruits  of  such  a  plan  would  richly  repay  any 
temporary  advantages  which  might  be  lost  by  a  steady  adhe- 
rence to  it?  Can  it  be  that  Providence  has  not  connected  the 
permanent  felicity  of  a  nation  with  its  virtue?  The  experiment, 
at  least,  is  recommended  by  every  sentiment  which  enobles  hu- 
man Mature.     Alas!  is  it  to  be  rendered  impossible  by  its  vices? 

In  the  execution  of  such  a  plan,  nothing  is  more  essential 
than  that  permanent  inveterate  antipathies  against  particular  na- 
tions, and  passionate  attachment  for  others,  should  be  excluded; 
and  that,  in  place  of  them,  just  and  sr-micable  feelings  towards 
all  should  be  cultivated.  The  nation  Avhich  indulges  towards 
another  an  habitual  hatred,  or  an  habitual  fondness,  is,  in  some 
degree,  a  slave.  It  is  a  slave  to  its  animosity  or  its  afiection; 
either  of  which  is  sufficient  to  lead  it  astray  from  its  duty  and 
its  interest.  Antipathy  in  one  nation  against  another,  disposes 
each  more  readily  to  offer  insult  and  injury,  to  lay  hold  of  slight 
causes  of  umbrage,  and  to  be  haughty  and  intractable,  when 
accidental  or  trifling  occasions  of  dispute  occur  Hence  fre- 
quent collisions,  obstinate,  envemoned  and  bhiody  contests.  The 
nation,  prompted  by  ill-will  and  resentment,  sometimes  impels 
to  war  the  Government,  contrary  to  the  best  calcations  of  policy. 
The  Government  sometimes  participates  in  the  national  propen- 
sity, and  adopts,  through  passion,  what  reason  would  reject;  at 
other  times  it  makes  the  animosity  of  the  nation  subservient  to 
projects  of  hostility,  instigated  by  pride,  ambition,  and  other  sin- 
ister and  pernicious  motives.  The  peace  often,  sometimes  per- 
haps the  liberty,  of  nations  has  been  the  victim. 

So,  likewise,  a  passionate  attachment  of  one  nation  to  another 
produces  a  variety  of  evils.  Sympathy  for  the  favorite  nation, 
facilitating  the  illusion  of  an  imaginary  common  interest,  in 
cases  where  no  real  common  interest  exists,  and  infusing  into 
one  the  enmities  of  the  other,  betrays  the  former  into  a  partici- 
pation in  the  quarrels  and  wars  of  the  latter,  without  adequate 
inducement  or  justification.  It  leads  also  to  concessions  to  the 
favorite  nation  of  privileges  denied  to  others,  which  is  apt 
doublj'  to  injure  the  nation  making  the  concessions;  by  unnec- 
essarily parting  with  what  ought  to  have  been  retained,  and  by 
exciting  jealousy,  ill-will,  and  a  disposition  to  retaliate,  in  the 


42  Washington's  fakkwei.i,  address. 

piirtiis  from  whom  equal  privile,i!;es  are  withheld;  and  it  ,i;ivea 
to  ambitious,  corrupted,  or  deluded  citizens  (who  devote  them- 
selves to  the  favorite  nation)  facility  to  betray,  or  sacrifice  the 
interest  of  their  own  country,  without  odium;  sometimes 
even  with  popularity;  gildinsj;  with  the  appearance  of  a  virtuous 
sense  of  obligation,  a  commendable  deference  for  public  opinion, 
or  a  laudable  zeal  lor  public  good  the  base  or  foolish  compliances 
of  amliition,  corruption  or  inl'atuatijn. 

As  avenues  to  foreign  influence  in  innumerable  ways,  such 
attachments  are  particularly  alarming  to  the  truly  enlightened 
and  independent  patriot.  "  How  many  opportunities  do  they 
aflbrd  to  tamper  with  domestic  factions,  to  practice  the  art  of 
seduction,  to  mislead  public  opinion,  to  influence  or  awe  the 
p-ublic  councils!  iSuch  an  attachment  of  a  small  or  weak,  to- 
wards a  great  and  powerful  nation,  dooms  the  former  to  be  the 
satelite  of  the  latter. 

Against  the  insidious  wiles  of  foreign  influence  (I  conjure 
you  to  believe  me,  fellow-citizens,)  the  jealousy  of  a  free  people 
ought  to  be  constantly  awake;  since  history  and  experience 
prove  that  foreign  influence  is  one  of  the  most  baneful  foes  of 
Ivepiihlican  (Jovernment.  IJut  that  jealousy,  to  be  useful,  must 
be  impartial;  else  it  becomes  the  instrument  of  Uio  very  influ- 
ence to  be  avoided,  instead  of  a  defence  against  it.  Excessive 
pirtiality  for  one  foreign  nation,  and  excessive  dislike  for  an- 
other, cause  those  whom  they  actuate  to  see  danger  only  on  one 
side,  and  serve  to  veil,  and  even  second,  the  arts  of  influence  on 
the  other.  JJeal  patriots,  who  may  resist  the  intrigues  of  the 
f.ivorite,  are  liable  to  become  suspected  and  odious;  while  its 
t  lols  and  dupes  usurp  the  applause  and  confidence  of  the 
people,  to  surrender  their  interests. 

The  great  rule  of  conduct  for  us,  in  regard  to  foreign  nations, 
is,  in  extending  our  commercial  relations,  to  have  with  them  as 
little  political  connection  as  possible.  So  far  as  we  have  already 
formed  engagements,  let  them  be  fulfilled  with  perfect  good 
faith.     Here  let  us  stop. 

Europe  has  a  set  of  primary  interests,  which  to  us  have  none, 
or  a  very  remote  relation,  ll'ence  she  must  be  engaged  in  fre- 
quent controversies,  the  causes  of  which  are  essentially_ foreign 
to  our  concerns.  Hence,  therefore,  it  must  be  unwise  in  us  to 
implicate  ourselves,  by  artificial  ties,  in  the  ordinary  vicissitudes 
of  her  politics,  or  tiie  ordinary  coml)inations  and  collisions  of 
her  friendships  or  enmities. 

Our  detached  and  distant  situation  invites  and  enables  us  to 
pursue  a  different  course.  If  we  remain  one  people,  under  an 
cflicient  (iovernment,  the  period  is  not  far  off  when  we  may  defy 
material  injury  from  external  annoyance;  when  we  may  take 
such  an  attitude   as   will   cause   the   neutrality   wo   may  at  any 


WA.SlIlNIJTLiX  S    l'"AKE\VKi,r,     ADUKESS.  43 

time  resolve  upon,  to  be  scrupulously  respected;  when  bellig- 
erent nations,  under  the  impossibility  of  making  acquisitions 
upon  us,  will  not  lightly  hazard  the  giving  us  provocation;  when 
we  may  choose  peace  or  war,  as  our  interest,  guided  by  justice, 
shall  counsel. 

Why  forego  the  advantages  of  such  a  peculiar  situation? 
Why  quit  our  own  to  stand  upon  foreign  ground?  Why,  by 
interweaving  our  destiny  with  that  of  any  part  of  Europe,  en- 
tangle our  peace  and  prosperity  in  the  toils  of  European  ambi- 
tion, rivalship,  interest,  humor  or  caprice? 

It  is  our  true  policy  to  steer  clear  of  permanent  alliances 
with  any  portion  of  the  foreign  world;  so  far,  1  mean,  as  wo 
are  now  at  liberty  to  do  it;  for  let  me  not  be  understood  as  ca- 
pable af  patronising  infidelity  to  existing  engagements.  1  hold 
the  maxim  no  less  applicable  to  public  than  to  private  affairs, 
that  honesty  is  always  the  best  policy.  I  repeat  it,  therefore, 
let  those  engagements  be  observed  in  their  genuine  sense.  But, 
in  my  opinion,  it  is  unnecessary,  and  would  be  unwise  to  extend 
them. 

Taking  care  always  to  keep  ourselves,  by  suitable  establish- 
ments, on  a  respectable  defensive  posture,  we  may  safely  trust 
to  temporary  alliances  for  extraordinary  emergencies. 
-  Harmony,  and  a  liberal  intercourse  with  all  nations,  arc 
recommended  by  policy,  humanity,  and  interest.  But  even  our 
commercial  policy  should  hold  an  equal  and  impartial  hand ; 
neither  seeking  nor  granting  exclusive  favors  or  preferences; 
consulting  thenatural  course  of  things;  diffusing  and  diversi- 
fying, bygentle  means,  the  streams  of  commerce,  but  forcing 
notlnng;  establishing,  with  powers  so  disposed,  in  order  to  give 
trade  a  stable  course,  to  define  the  rights  of  our  merchants,  and 
to  enable  the  Government  to  support  them,  conventional  rules 
of  intercourse,  the  best  that  present  circumstances  and  mutual 
opinions  will  permit,  but  temporary,  and  liable  to  be,  from  time 
to  time,  abandoned  or  varied,  as  experience  and  circumstances 
shall  dictate  ;  constantly  keeping  in  view,  that  it  is  folly  in  one 
nation  to  look  for  disinterested  favors  from  another;  that  it  must 
pay,  with  a  portion  of  its  independence,  for  whatever  it  may 
accept  under  that  character;  that  by  such  acceptance  it  may 
place  itself  in  the  condition  of  having  given  equivalents  for 
nominal  favors,  and  yet  of  being  reproached  with  ingratitude 
for  not  giving  more.  There  can  be  no  greater  error  than  to 
expect,  or  calculate  upon,  real  favors  from  nation  to  nation.  _  It 
is  an  illusion  which  experience  must  cure,  which  a  just  pride 
ought  to  discard. 

in  ofiering  to  you,  my  countrymen,  these  counsels  of  an  old 
and  affectionate  friend,  1  dare  not  hope  they  will  make  the 
strong  and  lasting  expression  1  could  wish;    that  they  will  con 


44  Washington's  farewell   address. 

trol  the  usuri.l  ciirrent  vl'  tlic  passions,  or  prevent  our  nation 
from  riinniiiLC  tlio  c<iiirsc  which  has  hitherK)  marked  the  destiny 
of  nations;  but  if  1  may  even  flatter  myself  that  they  may  be 
productive  of  some  partial  benefit,  some  occasional  good;  that 
they  may  now  and  then  rcmir  to  moderate  the  fury  of  party 
spirit,  to  warn  against  the  mischiefs  of  foreign  intrigues,  to 
guard  against  the  impostures  of  pretended  patriotism  ;  this  hope 
will  he  a  full  recompense  for  the  solicitude  for  your  welfare  by 
which  they  have  been  dictated. 

How  far,  in  tlie  discharge  (tf  my  official  duties,  I  have  been 
guided  by  tlie  principles  which  have  been  delineated,  the  public 
records,  and  other  evidences  of  my  conduct,  must  witness  tc 
yon  and  the  world.  To  myself,  the  assurance  of  ray  own  con- 
science is,  that  I  have  at  least  believed  myself  to  be  guided  by 
them. 

In  relation  to  the  still  subsisting- war  in  Europe,  my  procla- 
mation of  the  22d  of  April,  1793,  is  the  index  to  my  plan. 
Sanctioned  by  your  approving  voice,  and  by  that  of  your  Kepre- 
scntatives  in  both  Houses  of  Congress,  the  spirit  of  that  measure 
has  continually  governed  me,  uninfluenced  by  any  attempts  to 
deter  or  divert  me  from  it. 

After  deliberate  e.\amination,  with  the  aid  of  the  best  lights 
I  could  obtain,  I  was  well  satisfied  that  our  country,  under  all 
the  circumstances  of  the  case,  had  a  right  to  take,  and  was 
bound  in  duty  and  interest  to  take,  a  neutral  position  Having 
taken  it,  I  determined,  as  far  as  should  depend  upon  me,  to 
maintain  it  with  moderation,  perseverance,  and  firmness. 

The  consideration^  which  respect  the  right  to  hold  this  con- 
duct, it  is  not  necessary  on  this  occasion  to  detail.  1  will  only 
observe,  that,  according  to  my  understanding  of  the  matter, 
that  right,  so  far  from  being  denied  by  any  of  the  belligerent 
powers,  has  b?en  virtually  admitted  by  all. 

The  duty  of  holding  a  neutral  conduct  may  be  inferred,  with- 
out any  thing  more,  from  the  obligation  which  justice  and  hu- 
manity impose  on  every  nation,  in  cases  in  which  it  is  free  to 
act,  to  maintain  inviolate  the  relations  of  peace  and  amity 
towards  other  nations. 

The  inducements  of  interest,  for  observing  that  conduct,  will 
best  be  referred  to  3'our  own  reflections  and  experience.  With 
me,  a  predominant  motive  has  been  to  endeavor  to  gain  time  to 
our  country  to  settle  and  mature  its  yet  recent  institutions,  and 
to  progress,  without  interruption,  to  that  degree  of  strength  and 
consistency  which  is  necessary  to  give  it,  humanly  speaking,  the 
command  of  its  own  fortunes. 

Though  in  reviewing  the  incidents  of  my  administration,  I 
am  uncons:?ious  of  intentional  error;  lam,  nevertheless,  too 
sensible  of  my  defects  not  to  think  it  probable  that  1  may  have 


■\vasiiixgton's  fakewei.l   address.  45 

committed  many  errors.  Whatever  they  may  be,  I  fervently 
beseech  the  Almighty  to  avert  or  mitigate  the  evils  to  which 
they  may  tend.  I  shall  also  carry  with  mo  the  hope,  that  my 
country  will  never  cease  to  view  them  with  indnlgence  ;  and 
that,  after  forty-five  years  of  my  life  dedicated  to  its  service 
with  an  upright  zeal,  the  fiiults  of  incompetent  abilities  will 
be  consigned  to  oblivion,  as  myself  must  soon  be  to  the  man- 
sions of  rest. 

l?elying  on  its  kindness  in  this,  as  in  other  things,  and  actu- 
ated by  that  fervent  love  towards  it  which  is  so  natural  to  a  man 
■who  views  in  it  the  native  soil  of  himself  and  his  progenitors,  1 
anticipate,  with  pleasing  expectation,  that  retreat  in  which  I 
promise  myself  to  realize,  without  alloy,  the  sweet  enjoyment  of 
partaking,  in  the  midst  of  my  fellow-citizens,  the  benign  influ- 
ence of  good  laws  under  a  free  Government — the  ever  favorite 
object  of  my  heart — and  the  happy  reward,  as  I  trust,  of  our 
mutual  cares,  labors,  and  dangers. 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

Uxi-iED  States,  17th  September,  1796. 


lilSTOHY  OF  THE  STATES. 


vincixiA. 

'•'I'lic  01(1  Dominion,"  so  distint^uished  as  bcini;  the  native 
State-  of  the  Father  of  American  Liberty,  and  tlie  ''.Mother  of 
Presidents,"  really  seemed  at  one  time,  to  be  pei;uliarly  favora- 
ble to  the  birth  and  development  of  statesmen.  It  has  furnishod 
no  less  than  five  Presidents,  among  whom  are  Washington, 
Monroe,  Madison,  and  Jctferson.  It  was  the  lirst  Colony,  on 
tlie  Continent,  settled  by  the  English.  In  1G07,  a  company 
formed  under  the  patronage  of  James  I.,  oljtained  a  grant  to 
make  settlements  in  America,  between  the  il4tii  and  .'J8th  de- 
grees of  north  latitude.  In  May,  16U7,  a  colony  of  one  hundred 
and  five  persons,  under  direction  of  this  company,  arrived  oflf 
the  coast  of  South  Virginia.  Their  intention  had  been  to  form 
a  settlement  on  Koanoke,  now  in  Xorth  Carolina;  but  being 
driven  north  by  a  violent  storm,  they  discovered  and  entered 
the  mouth  of  Chesapeake  l>ay.  Passing  up  this  Bay  they 
named  its  Capes — Henry  and  Charles,  in  honor  of  the  King's 
two  sons.  Tliey  were  commanded  by  Capt.  Christopher  New- 
port, an  o.xpericnceil  and  distinguished  navigator.  Passing  up 
.lames  Piver,  tliey  arrived  ai;  a  Peninsula,  upon  which  they 
landed  and  established  Jamestown. 

After  promulgating  a  code  of  laws  which  had  been  formed  by 
the  London  compan\-,  Capt.  Newport  sailed  for  England,  leaving 
the  colony  under  the  care  of  Capt.  John  Smith,  whose  subse- 
quent relations  to  the  settlement  became  so  important,,  and 
without  whose  efforts  the  enterprise  would  doubtless  iiave  proved 
a  failure.  The  colonists  seem  to  have  been  ver}-  poorly  adapted 
to  the  labor  required  at  their  hands.  Too  many  of  them  were 
(jcnllenieu,  and  came,  it  appears,  only  to  enrich  themselves  by 
gathering  gold,  Avhich,  thny  had  heard,  was  very  abundant. 

Through  a  series  of  diOiculties,  which  it  is  rarely  the  lot  of 
man  to  encounter,  this  colony  progressed;  the  settlers  awhile 
quarreling  among  themselves,  and  awhile  contending  against 
savages  and  famine,  lor  bare  existence,  until  the  period  of  the 
Revolution,  in  which  it  was  one  of  the  first  colonies  to  take 
active  part,  furnishing  to  the  young   IJepublic  many  of  its  most 

(4G) 


ISISTORY    OF    STATKS  47 

efficient  military  cliicf'tains  and  statesmen.  It  ratified  the 
Constitution  June  26th,  1788.  After  the  Revolution  it3  course 
was  for  many  years  one  of  great  prosperity.  But,  unfortun- 
ately, the  year  18G1  found  the  majority  of  its  statesmen  arrayed 
against  the  (Jlovcrnment,  on  the  side  of  secession,  and  on  the 
15th  of  April,  1861,  she  seceded  from  the  Union.  On  the  17th 
of  .June,  1861,  all  the  counties  lying  between  the  Alle^iiheny 
Mountains  and  tiie  Ohio  river,  were,  by  a  convention  held  at 
Wheeling,  declared  independent  of  the  old  State  government, 
and  were  organized  into  a  new  State,  called  West  Virginia, 
which  remains  loyal.  The  Capital  of  the  old  State  was  selected 
as  the  seat  of  government  of  the  so-called  Confederate  States  of 
America. 

M.VSSACllUSETTS. 

jMassachusetts  was  settled  in  the  year  1620,  by  the  Puritans. 
These  people,  having  been  severely  persecuted  in  England,  had 
previously  taken  refuge  in  Holland;  but  for  various  reasons, 
they  determined,  after  remaining  in  Holland  a  season,  to  emi- 
grate to  the  New  World.  Unfortunately,  they  started  at  a  very 
unpropitious  season  of  the  year,  arriving  at  New  England  in 
tiie  winter.  The  severity  of  the  climate,  their  scarcity  of  food 
at  times,  operated  seriously  against  their  comfort  and  progress. 
it  is  said  that  they  were  frequently  threatened  with  starvation. 
At  one  time  the  entire  company  had  but  one  pint  of  Indian 
corn,  which  being  divided  equally  among  them,  allowed  to  each 
person  eight  grains.  I>ut,  unlike  the  early  settlers  of  Virginia, 
they  were  all  working  men,  and  good  economists.  From  the 
time  of  the  landing  at  Plymouth  up  to  1691,  this,  first,  settle- 
ment was  known  as  the  Plymouth  Colony.  Meantime,  another 
settlement  had  been  formed,  styled  the  ^Massachusetts  Colony. 
Both  were  for  some  years  under  the  control  of  a  London  com- 
pany. In  1691,  Massachusetts  and  Plymouth  Colonies  were 
united,  and  thenceforward  their  history  is  one.  The  people  of 
Mas.5achusetts  were,  during  the  early  part  of  their  colonial  ex- 
istence, sorely  vexed,  at  times,  by  the  Indians,  especially  by  the 
Pequods.  They,  unfortunately,  had  imbibed,  during  their  own 
persecutions,  too  much  of  the  spirit  of  conscription,  and, 
although  themselves  refugees  from  religious  bigotry,  sullied 
much  of  their  history  prior  to  the  Kevolution  by  punishing 
what  they  called  heresy  in  the  Quakers  and  Baptists.  During 
1774 — 1775,  Massachusetts  took  a  very  prominent  part  in  favor 
of  Colonial  rights,  and  was  the  first  State  to  manifest  the  spirit 
of  resentment  toward  Great  Britain.  Its  history  during  the 
War  for  Independence  is  one  of  glory.  It  adopted  the  Consti- 
tution June  6th,  17SS. 


48  ins'roi:Y  vi-  statics. 

•M-;\V     IIAMI'SHIIIE. 

This  State  ^vas  a  part  of  Massachusetts  up  to  the  year  IGSO. 
It  was,  however,  settled  in  1024,  the  first  settlement  being  lurmed 
at  Dover  by  the  English.  In  IGSO  it  wa.s  erected  into  a  separate 
colony,  and  its  first  legislative  assembly  met  this  year.  John 
Mason  w:\.-  its  first  Governor.  It  suffered  severely  i'romlndian 
wars,  ani  its  profrress,  during  the  first  years  of  its  existence, 
was  slow  In  1742  it  contained  only  six  hundred  persons  liable 
to'taxatiiai.  Its  first  Constitution  was  formed  in  I6S3.  It  suf- 
fered from  the  eflects  of  an  insurrection  in  16SG,  although  prior 
and  sub^'e(lucnt  to  this  afi'air,  it  seem'j  to  have  been  one  of  the 
most  peaceful  and  quiet  of  the  colonies.  It  is  distinguished  for 
its  excellent  pastures,  towering  hills  and  fine  cattle.  The  White 
Mountains  are  the  highest  in  New  England.  It  took  a  prom- 
inent and  active  part'in  the  Revolution.  It  ratified  the  Consti- 
tution June  21st,  1788,  since  which  time  it  has  been  highly 
prosperous.  Its  present  population  is  32G,073.  Its  course 
during  the  Rebellion  has  been  highly  commendable. 

MAKYLAND. 

In  1632,  Sir  George  Calvert  (Lord  Baltimore)  visited  America, 
explored  a  tract  of  country  lying  on  the  Chesapeake  15ay,  be- 
longing to  what  was  then  called  .^uth  Virginia,  and  returned  to 
England  to  procure  a  grant  for  it.  But  before  the  patent  was 
made  out,  he  died,  and  it  was  given  to  his  son,  Cecil._  The  prov- 
ince was  named,  by  King  Charles  I.,  in  the  patent,  in  honor  of 
his  Queen,  Henrietta  Maria.  A  part  of  the  province  appears 
to  have  been  included  in  ttie  grant  made  some  time  afterward 
to  AWn.  Penn,  and  to  have  caused  much  contention  between  the 
successors  of  Penn  and  Baltimore. 

In  March,  1G34,  Leonard  Calvert,  the  brother  of  Cecil,  arrived 
qt  the  mouth  of  the  Potomac  river,  bringing  Avith  him  two  hun- 
dred emigrants,  most  of  whom  were  Roman  Catholic  Ccntlemen. 
Leaving  the  vessel,  he  ascended  in  a  pinnace  as  far  as  Piska- 
taqua,  an  Indian  village  nearly  opposite  Mount  Vernon.  The 
Indian  Sachem  gave  him  full  liberty  to  settle  there  if  he  chose; 
but  not  deeming  it  safe,  he  began  a  settlenicnt  lower  down  on  a 
branch  of  the  Potomac,  at  the  Indian  town  of  Yoacomoco.  The 
settlement  was  called  St.  I\Iarys. 

Maryland  made  a  very  fortunate  beginning.  The  colonists 
arrived  in  time  to  make  a  crop  for  that  year.  Their  neighbors 
in  Virginia  supplied  them  with  cattle  and  protected  themia 
great  part  from  the  Indians,  while  their  own  kind  and  consist- 
ent course  materially  promoted  their  happy  relations  with  the 
sayag^os. 


HISTORY   OP   STATES.  49 

The  charter  which  had  been  granted  them  was  very  liberal, 
ceding  to  them  the  full  power  of  legislation,  without  any  inter- 
ference on  the  part  of  the  Crown.  In  1635  they  made  laws  for 
their  government,  which  were  somewhat  modified  in  1639.  In 
1650  they  had  an  upper  and  lower  legislative  assembly,  as  had 
their  Virginia  neighbors. 

Ten  or  twelve  years  after  its  settlement,  Maryland  was  dis- 
turbed by  an  insurrection,  headed  by  one  Clayborne;  but  this 
difficulty  was  soon  settled.  It  played  a  conspicuous  part  in  the 
Revolution,  and  adopted  the  Constitution  April  28th,  1788.  Its 
progress  has  been  fair,  its  present  population  being  687,049. 
Its  geographical  position  and  the  mixed  political  character  of 
its  people  caused  it  to  assume  a  rather  dubious  attitude  at  the 
commencement  of  the  Rebellion  of  1861.  Some  of  its  best 
statesmen,  however,  were  among  the  most  uncompromising 
friends  of  the  Union. 

NEW   YORK. 

Captain  Henry  Hudson,  the  famous  voyager,  discovered  what 
is  now  New  York,  together  with  a  considerable  extent  of  terri- 
tory contiguous  to  it,  in  the  year  1609.  Although  an  English- 
man by  nativity,  Hudson  was  at  this  time  employed  by  the 
Dutch,  (Hollanders)  who,  consequently,  claimed  the  territory. 
Meantime  the  English  set  up  a  claim  to  it,  as  being  a  part  of 
North  Virginia.  They  also  claimed  it  on  account  of  Hudson 
being  an  Englishman.  The  Dutch,  however,  determined  to 
hold  it,  and  in  1610  opened  a  trade  with  the  natives  of  Man- 
hattan Island,  on  the  spot  where  the  City  of  New  York  now 
stands.  They  erected  a  fort  on  or  near  the  site  of  Albany, 
named  the  country  in  general,  New  Netherlands,  and  the  station 
at  Manhattan,  New  Amsterdam.  The  Dutch  retained  the 
counti-y  until  the  year  1664. 

It  seems  that  up  to  this  time  they  claimed  not  only  the  pres- 
ent territory  of  New  York,  but  also  that  of  Connecticut  and 
New  Jersey.  The  liberal  governments  of  the  surrounding  colo- 
nies stood  in  great  contrast  with  the  despotic  one  imposed  by 
the  Dutch  Government  upon  their  American  colonists.  And 
when,  in  1664,  an  English  squadron  despatched  by  James,  Duke 
of  York,  with  instructions  to  take  possession  of  the  province  of 
New  Netherlands,  appeared  before  New  Amsterdam,  the  inhab- 
itants were  willing  to  capitulate  without  resistance.  Peter  Sty- 
vesant,  their  Governor,  and  an  able  executive,  made  vain  efforts 
to  rouse  them  to  defence  and  was  forced  to  surrender.  The 
English  Government  was  now  acknowledged  over  the  whole  of 
New  Netherlands,  the  Capital  receiving  the  name  of  Nevf 
York,  as  well  as  the  province.  From  this  time  forward  to  the 
4 


50  HISTORY   OF   STATES. 

Revolutionary  War,  New  York  remained  in  the  hands  of  tlie 
Enj^lisi),  and  was  under  the  control  of  a  very  arbitrary  succes- 
sion of  Governors.  The  progress  of  the  colony  was  steady,  in 
numbers,  wealth  and  civilization.  It  took  an  active  part  in  the 
Revolution,  and  adopted  the  Constitution  .July  26th,  1788. 
A-fter  this  it  outstripped  every  other  State  in  the  Union  in  every 
thing  pertaining  to  wealth  and  greatness,  save  education,  in 
which  matter  no  State  can  compare  with  ^lassachusetts.  At 
the  commencement  of  the  great  Rebellion,  this  noble  State 
showed  herself  truly  worthy  to  be  ranked  as  the  Empire  State. 
She  has  furnished  the  Government  more  money  than  any  other 
State.     Her  population  is  3,880,735. 

CONNECTICUT. 

In  the  year  1633,  the  Puritans  of  Massachusetts,  having  heard 
very  flattering  reports  of  the  valley  of  Connecticut,  resolved  to 
make  an  effort  to  settle  it.  Accordingly,  a  company  of  them 
sailed  for  the  Connecticut  river,  taking  with  them  the  frame  of 
a  house.  Meantime  the  Dutch,  claiming  the  territory  as  theirs, 
'built  a  fort  on  tlie  river  where  Ilartford  now  stands,  to  prevent 
the  emigrants  from  passing  up.  The  Yankees,  however,  with 
that  steady  perseverance  which  has  always  marked  their  course, 
proceeded  on  their  way,  paj'ing  no  attention  to  the  Dutch  fort, 
whose  only  demonstration  was  an  unexecuted  threat  to  fire  on 
the  emigrants  if  they  passed  it.  Landing  where  Farmington 
river  enters  the  Connecticut,  they  founded  the  town  of  Wimi- 
sor.  Other  settlements  were  subsequently  formed  at  "Wester- 
field,  Ilartford,  and  Watertown.  The  first  general  Court  was 
held  at  Ilartford,  in  the  year  1636.  The  province  suffered  se- 
verely from  the  depredations  of  the  Pequod  Indians,  with  which 
tribe  a  great  and  decisive  battle  was  ultimately  fought  on  the 
river  M3'stic,  in  the  year  1036.*  During  this  year  the  towns  of 
Windsor,  Ilartford,  and  Wethersfield,  met  in  convention  and 
formed  a  Government,  electing  John  Haynes  the  first  Governor 
of  the  colony. 

Its  course  from  this  period  forward  was  one  of  great  pros- 
perity. It  stood  in  the  front  rank  during  the  war  for  Independ- 
ence, and  in  no  case  was  ever  known  to  flinch  fi*om  duty.  It 
ratified  the  Constitution  June  9th,  1788.  Its  present  population 
is  400,147. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  Rebellion  in  1861,  its  voice  was 
for  the  Union  and  the  Government  of  the  Fathers.  Its  aid  in 
behalf  of  freedom  has  been  earnest  and  eflBicient. 


*.This  battle  resulted  in  the  destruction  of  the  rcquod  tribe. 


aiSTOEY  OF  STATES.  51 

IHODE  ISLAND. 

la  June,  1636,  Roger  Williams,  an  earnest,  enthusiastic  advo- 
cate of  religious  liberty  in  the  broadest  sense,  having  been  ban- 
ished by  the  Puritans  of  Massachusetts  from  that  colony,  went 
to  what  is  now  known  as  Rhode  Island,  purchased  the  present 
site  of  Providence  of  the  Narigansett  Indians,  and  founded  a 
colony,  of  which  he  was  at  once  pastor,  teacher  and  father.  He 
donated  land  to  any  whom  he  thought  worthy,  and  Providence 
Plantation,  as  it  was  long  called,  became  an  asylum  for  persecu- 
ted Christians  of  all  denominations,  especially  the  Baptists.  The 
first  settlement  in  Rhode  Island,  proper,  was  formed  by  William 
Codington  in  the  year  1636.  Up  to  1640,  the  citizens  of  Rhode 
Island  made  their  own  laws  in  general  convention.  But,  in 
1644,  Roger  Williams,  with  the  aid  of  Gov.  Vane,  of  Massachu- 
setts, procured  a  charter  for  two  settlements,  under  the  name  of 
Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations.  The  Constitution 
iramed  under  this  charter  was  a  good  one,  and  lasted  until  the 
year  1818.  For  many  years  the  legislative  assembly  of  this 
colony  met  twice  a  year. 

Rhode  Island  is  distinguished  as  the  smallest  State  in  the 
Union.  It  did  noble  service  in  the  war  for  Independence,  but 
did  not,  for  some  reason,  adopt  the  Constitution  till  the  29th  of 
May,  1790.  It  has  been  a  highly  prosperous  State;  is  distin- 
guished for  its  good  schools  and  large  manufactories. 

At  the  breaking  out  of  the  rebellion  in  1861,  it  stepped  nobly 
forward  in  defence  of  the  Government,  sending  its  own  Governor 
to  Washington  at  the  head  of  a  regiment  of  volunteers. 

Its  population  is  174,620. 

NEW  JERSEY, 

At  first,  formed  a  part  of  the  Dutch  province  of  New  Nether- 
lands. But  soon  after  the  latter  came  into  the  hands  of  the 
English,  the  territory  of  New  Jersey  was  transferred  to  Lord 
Berkley  and  Sir  George  Carteret,  by  the  Duke  of  York.  The 
first  permanent  settlement  was  formed  at  Elizabethtown,  in 
1664,  by  emigrants  from  Long  Island.  Phillip  Carteret  arrived 
in  the  colony  in  1665,  and  became  its  first  Governor.  The  pro- 
vince had  very  little  trouble  with  the  Indians.  Many  emigrants 
from  New  England  and  New  York  soon  arrived,  and  for  a  series 
of  years  the  colony  advanced  in  prosperity.  It  enjoyed  the 
blessings  flowing  from  a  liberal  form  of  government. 

In  the  year  1685,  the  Duke  of  York  became  the  King  of  Eng- 
land, under  tne  title  of  James  II.,  and  disregarding  his  former^ 
pledges,  assumed,  in  1688,  the  government  of  New  Jersey,' 
placing  it  under  the  control  of  Sir  Edmond  Andros,  whom  he 


52  UISTOKY  OF  STATES. 

had  already  made  Governor  of  New  York  and  New  England. 
This  state  of  things  was  terminated  by  the  revolution  in  Eng- 
land, but  left  New  Jersey  for  years  in  a  very  precarious  condi- 
tion. In  1702,  its  proprietors  having  resigned  their  claims,  it 
became  a  royal  province,  and  was  united  to  New  York.  In 
1738,  it  became  again  a  separate  province,  and  so  continued  un- 
til the  Revolution,  in  which  it  took  a  very  active  part  in  favor 
of  liberty.  It  ratified  the  Constitution  December  18th,  1787. 
Thence  forward  its  career  has  been  a  highly  prosperous  one. 
Its  strength  has  been  put  forth  to  aid  in  crushing  the  great  re- 
bellion.    Population  672,075. 

DELAWARE. 


Gustavus  Adolphus,  King  of  Sweden,  formed  a  plan  of  estab- 
lishing colonies  in  America  as  early  as  the  year  1026  But  as 
he  died  on  the  field  of  Leutzen,  durintr  the  Sermau  war  in  1633, 
without  carrying  his  scheme  into  effect,  tiis  minister  took  it  up, 
and  employed  Peter  Minuets,  first  Governor  of  New  Nether- 
lands, to  carry  it  '.nw  effect.  In  1G38,  a  small  Swedish  colony 
arrived  un'Jer  the  direction  of  ISlinueta,  and  settled  on  Christian 
Creek,  near  the  present  town  of  Wilmington.  Notwithstanding 
the  remonstrances  of  the  Dutch  Government  of  New  Nether- 
lands, who  claimed  the  territory,  the  Swedes  continued  to  extend 
their  settlements  from  this  time  until  they  pre-empted  all  the 
territory  from  Capo  llenlopen  to  the  falls  of^the  Delaware.  At 
this  time  the  colony  was  called  New  Sweden.  In  1651,  Gov. 
Styvesant,  to  chock  the  aggressive  movements  of  the  Swedes, 
built  a  fort  near  the  present  site  of  New  Castle,  of  which  the 
Swedes  afterwards  obtained  possession  by  strategem.  Enraged 
at  this  movement,  the  Government  of  Holland  ordered  Styvesant 
to  reduce  the  Swedes  to  submission,  which  he  speedily  accom- 
plished with  six  hundred  men,  in  1655.  The  province  was  soon 
after  annexed  to  New  Netherlands.  Delaware  was,  after  it  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  English,  included  in  the  grant  made  to 
William  Penn,  in  1692.  It  remained  attached  to  Pennsylvania 
until  1691,  when  it  was  allowed  a  separate  government.  It  was 
reunited  to  Pennsylvania  in  1692.  In  1703,  it  was  again  sepa- 
rated, having  its  own  Legislature,  though  the  same  Governor 
presided  over  both  colonies.  The  ancient  forms  of  the  govern- 
ment were  preserved  through  the  Jievolutionary  struggle.  It 
ratified  the  Constitution  December  7th,  1787. 

Its  position,  at  the  commencement  of  the  rebellion  of  1861, 
was  somewhat  dubious.  It,  being  a  northerly  slave  State,  was 
somewhat  divided  in  regard  to  where  its  interests  lay.  It,  how- 
ever, finally  came  out  somewhat  decidedly  for  the  Union,  al. 


HISTORY  OF  STATES.  53 

though  its  entire  strength  has  not  been  exerted  against  the  re- 
bellion.    Its  population  is  112,216. 

THE  CAROLINAS. 

In  the  year  1563,  the  coast  of  Carolina  was  explored,  and 
named  after  Charles  IX.  of  Franco,  The  first  attempt  to  settle 
it  was  made  by  the  celebrated  and  accomplished  ISir  Walter 
Raleigh,  in  1585,  twenty  two  years  before  the  settlement  of 
Jamestown,  and  thirty-five  years  before  the  Puritans  landed  at 
Plymouth.  This  effort  failed  on  account  of  the  incapacity  of 
the  Governor  appointed  by  Raleigh,  and  the  ill-behavior  of  the 
colonists  towards  the  natives. 

The  first  successful  attempt  was  made  sometime  between  1640 
and  1650,  under  the  direction  of  Gov.  Berkley.  The  settlement 
was  made  in  Albemarle  county,  by  a  few  Virginia  planters.  In 
1663,  a  large  tract  of  land,  lying  between  the  30th  and  the  36th 
degress  of  north  latitude,  having  the  Atlantic  Ocean  for  its  east- 
ern boundary,  was  conveyed  by  Charles  II.,  to  Lord  Clarendon 
and  associates,  under  whose  auspices  a  settlement  was  made 
near  the  mouth  of  Cape  Fear  River,  in  the  year  1665,  by  emi- 
grants from  Barbadoes.  Sir  James  Yeomans  was  appointed 
Governor.  A  settlement  was  made  at  Port  Royal,  South  Carolina, 
in  1670;  and  in  1671,  a  few  persons  located  at  what  was  then 
called  Old  Charleston,  which  place  was  abandoned  in  1680,  and 
the  foundation  of  the  present  city  of  Charleston  laid,  several 
miles  nearer  the  sea. 

All  the  various  settlements  here  mentioned  went  under  the 
general  name  of  Carolina  until  1571,  when  a  division  was  made, 
and  the  northern  and  southern  portions  were  called  by  their 
distinctive  names,  North  and  South  Carolina.  These  States 
were  the  scenes  of  many  Revolutionary  tragedies.  South  Caro- 
lina, in  particular,  although  the  home  of  Sumpter,  and  Marion, 
and  Rutledge,  was  replete  with  tories,  (royalists)  who  spared  no 
efibrt  to  annoy  the  infant  republic,  and  play  into  the  hands  of 
the  British  Government,  South  Carolina  ratified  the  Constitu- 
tion May  23d,  1778,  but  threatened  to  break  the  compact  in  1832, 
and  was  only  prevented  by  the  stern  will  of  President  Jackson. 
After  this  the  State  did  nothing  worthy  of  note,  until  December 
20th,  1860,  when  it  seceded  from  the  Union,  taking  the  lead  in 
)he  great  rebellion.     Present  population  703,708. 

North  Carolina  ratified  the  Constitution  Nov.  21st,  1789,  and 
seceded  from  the  Union  May  2l8t,  1861.     Population  992,622. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

The  Old  Keystone  State,  and  one  of  the  mxist  wealthy  and 


64  niSTOKY    OF   STATES. 

prosperous  in  the  Union,  •was  settled  by  the  Quakers,  under  the 
direction  of  Win.  Penn,  at  Philadelphia,  in  the  year  1682.  The 
founder  of  this  colony  showed  himself  a  philosopher,  a  philan- 
thropist, a  thorough  political  economist,  at  the  very  commence- 
ment of  his  labors,  lie  put  the  province  under  the  government 
of  a  Council  of  Three  and  a  House  of  Delegates,  chosen  by  the 
freemen,  who,  according  to  his  arrangement,  were  all  those  who 
acknowledged  the  existence  of  one  (lod.  He  pursued  such  a 
course  with  the  natives  as  won  their  confidence  and  esteem. 
No  Qnaker  was  ever  murdered  by  an  Indian;  and  to  this  day 
the  "sons  of  AV'm.  Penn"  are  everywhere  respected  by  the 
savage.  The  treaty  Penn  made  with  the  Indians  was  never  vio- 
lated. In  framing  tlie  colonial  government,  he  provided  for  the 
largest  religious  liberty,  allowing  every  one  to  worship  accord- 
ing to  the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience.  Up  to  1684  Dela- 
ware, as  before  mentioned,  was  included  in  Penn's  grant.  But 
about  this  time  he  procured  a  new  charter,  more  strictly  defin- 
ing the  rights  and  limits  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Delaware  was 
detached.  For  seventy  years  prosperity  smiled  upon  this  col- 
ony, during  much  of  which  time  Penn  was,  according  to  the 
historian,  its  governor,  magistrate,  preacher  and  teacher.  It 
was  troubled  with  no  Indian  wars  till  1754,  when  Penn's  exam- 
ple and  teachings  began  to  be  forgotten.  The  population,  owing 
to  a  considerable  influx  from  Sweden,  Germany,  and  some  other 
countries,  began,  at  a  later  date,  to  assume  a  more  varied  aspect; 
and  when  the  colonics  rebelled  against  the  mother  country, 
Pennsylvania  contained  sufficient  "fighting"  material  to  lend 
valuable  assistance  to  the  cause  of  liberty. 

Sheadopted  the  Constitution  December  12th,  1787,  since  which 
time  her  increase  in  wealth,  and  advancement  in  general  im- 
provement has  been  almost  without  a  parallel.  Her  vast  coal 
fields  and  rich  iron  mines  constitute  a  source  of  eternal  wealth. 
Upon  the  breaking  out  of  the  rebellion  of  1861,  her  position  in 
favor  of  the  Union  was  well  defined. 

Her  population  is  2,906,115. 

OEOEGIA. 

General  James  Oglethorpe,  and  a  company  of  twenty-one 
others,  received,  in  the  year  1732,  from  George  II.,  of  England, 
a  grant  for  all  the  land  between  the  Savannah  and  the  Altama- 
ha  rivers.  In  January,  173.S,  a  company  of  one  hundred  and 
fourteen  men,  women  and  children,  arri/cd  at  Charleston,  S.  C, 
destined  for  Georgia.  They  were  kindly  treated  by  the  Charles- 
tonians,  and  were  greatly  assisted  liy  thom  in  their  labor  of 
forming  a  colony,  'i'lie  first  laws  made  for  the  province  by  the 
twenty-two  grantees,  prohibited  the  importation   of  rum,  trade 


inSTOKY    OK    STATES.  55 

with  the  Indians,  and  the  use  of  negroes.  They  also  provided 
that  lands  should  go  back  to  the  original  owners  in  ease  the  pur- 
chaser had  no  male  heirs.  Although  the  first,  second  and  third 
of  these  provisions  "were  undoubtedly  wholesome,  the  fourth  was 
highly  objectionable,  and  tended  very  much  to  retard  the  pro- 
gress of  the  colony.  In  the  year  1740,  General  Oglethorpe,  as 
commander  in  chief  of  the  forces  in  Georgia,  at  the  head  of  two 
thousand  men,  invaded  Florida  with  the  intention  of  forcibly 
annexing  it  to  Georgia;  but  he  was  soon  repelled  from  the  ter- 
ritory, and  returned  home  bootless.  The  Spanish,  in  turn,  with 
two  sail  of  vessels  and  three  thousand  men,  invaded  Georgia  in 
1742,  and  were  likewise  forced  to  return  home  thwarted.  The 
progress  of  thii  colony  was  for  many  years  very  slow;  the  peo- 
ple manifesting  that  indolence  and  indiffei-ence  which  is  stilJ  too 
prominent  a  characteristic  of  Georgians.  It  was  mainly  on  the 
side  of  freedom  during  the  revolution. 

It  ratified  the  Constitution  January  9th,  1788.  Since  the  rev- 
olution, the  State  has  manifested  but  little  life  as  compared  with 
its  sisters,  and  its  secession  from  the  Union,  May  19th,  1861, 
was  followed  by  speedy  ruin. 

VERMONT 

The  territory  of  which  this  State  is  composed  began  to  be 
settled  in  the  year  1731,  but  was  for  some  years  considered  as  a 
part  of  New  Hampshire.  It  was  also  claimed  at  one  time  by 
New  York,  and  a  contest  arose  between  that  State  and  New 
Hampshire,  which  was  adjusted  by  the  King  of  England  in  a 
manner  by  no  means  satisfactory  to  the  settlers.  The  result 
was  a  quarrel  between  Vermont  and  the  Crown,  in  which  the 
(ireen  Mountain  Boys,  led  by  Col.  Ethan  Allen,  resisted  the  of- 
ficers of  justice,  as  well  as  the  New  York  militia,  who  were 
called  out  to  sustain  them.  The  province  appears  not  to  have 
had  even  a  territorial  government  until  1777,  at  which  time  a 
convention  of  delegates  met  at  Westminster,  and  declared  them- 
selves an  independent  State,  under  the  name  of  New  Connecti- 
cut. Previous  to  this  time,  however,  they  had  rendered  mate- 
rial aid  to  the  revolution.  It  May,  1755,  Col.  Allen,  at  the  head 
of  two  hundred  and  seventy  men,  reduced  Eort  Ticonderoga 
and  Crown  Point,  and  thus  became  complete  master  of  Lake 
Champlain.  During  the  whole  period  of  the  revolution  the  State 
did  good  service  in  the  cause  of  liberty,  although  it  remained 
independent.  Some  time  subsequent  to  its  declaration  of  in- 
dependence its  name  was  changed  to  Vermont.  As  it  was  not 
one  of  the  original  States,  it  did  not  ratify  the  Constitution,  but, 
upon  application,  was  admitted  to  the  Union  during  the  second 
session  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1791.     It  has  been  a  highly 


56  HISTORY   OF   STATES. 


prosperous  State,  and  added  much  to  the  luster  of  the  Union  in 
its  palinly  days  of  peaec.  It  fully  sustained  its  revolutionary 
reputation  at  the  commencement  of  the  rebellion  of  1861.     Its 


rep 

population  is  315,098. 


KENTUCKY, 


Was  settled  in  the  year  1775  by  Daniel  Boone  and  a  number 
of  associates  from  North  Cai-olina.  Tiic  trials  and  adventures 
(if  these  hardy  pioneers,  and  especially  those  of  I5oonc,  con- 
stitute one  of  the  most  romantic  leaves  in  the  history  of  the 
West.  For  over  two  years,  previous  to  1775,  IJoone  was  busily 
employed  in  surveying  Kentucky,  building  roads,  and  forts. 
One  of  the  latter  he  erected  at  Boonsborough,  to  which  place  he 
removed  his  family  in  1775.  Boone  said  that  his  wife  and 
daughter  were  tlie  first  white  women  who  ever  stood  on  the 
banks  of  the  Kentucky  river.  For  a  number  of  years  after 
Boone's  settlement,  he  and  his  associatiates  experienced  many 
difficulties  with  the  natives,  Boone's  daughter  being  at  one  time 
captured  by  the  Indians,  though  shortly  afterwards  rescued  by 
her  father.  But,  notwithstanding  the  difficuities  with  the 
savages,  the  young  territory  grew  rapidly  in  population  and 
wealtb,  and  on  June  1st,  1792,  was  admitted  to  the  Union.  Hav- 
ing a  fertile  soil,  and  ailbrding  excellent  pasturage,  she  has  far 
outstripped  most  of  her  slave-holding  sisters  in  general  improve- 
ment. 

Her  position  for  some  time  after  the  commencement  of  the 
rebellion,  was  by  no  means  promotive  of  her  prospcrty.  Owing 
to  her  attempt  to  observe  strict  neutrality,  she  became  the  scene 
of  many  guei-rilla  outrages,  and  has  suffered,  perhaps,  more  than 
any  otlier  State  during  tlie  struggle. 

iler  population  is  1,115,084. 

TENNESSEE, 

Was,  for  some  time,  a  part  of  North  Carolina.  It  was  made  a 
territorial  government  in  the  year  1790,  and  was  admitted  into 
the  Union  in  179G.  The  fir.st  permanent  white  inhabitants  of 
Tennessee  w^ent  there  in  the  year  1775,  and  built  Fort  Lou- 
den, now  in  Blount  county.  They  were,  in  1760,  attacked  by 
the  savages,  and  two  hundred  persons  were  massacred.  But, 
in  1767,  the  natives  were  reduced  to  submission  by  Col.  Grant, 
and  a  treaty  was  made  Avith  them  which  encouraged  emigra- 
tion. Settlements  were  formed  on  Holeton  river  in  1765,  which 
although  frequently  attaked  by  the  Indians,  made  very  fair  pro- 
gress. Col.  John  Sevier,  witii  the  Tennessee  militia  and  a  few 
Virginia  soldiers,  gained  a  decisive  victory  over  the  savages,  and 


HISTORY   OP   STATES.  ^7 

from  this  time  forward,  thouf!;h  more  or  less  harrasscd  by  the 
Indians,  the  progress  of  the  State,  in  popuhxtion  and  improve- 
ment, was  rapid.  North  Carolina  gave  up  the  territory  iu  1789, 
and  in  1790  Congress  recognized  it  as  a  separate  province.  It 
has  great  estentof  territory  and,  up  to  1861,  was  considered  as 
among  the  greatest  of  the  agricultural  States.  At  this  time, 
liowever,  it  was  seduced  by  the  voice  of  the  siren,  secession,  and 
on  the  li4th  of  June,  1861,  formally  seceded  from  the  Union.  It 
should  be  stated,  however,  in  justice  to  the  State,  that  the  east- 
ern portion  of  it  was  generally  loyal,  and  was  only  dragged  out 
of  the  Union  by  force.  Tennessee  is  now,  (1864)  occupied  by 
the  armies  of  the  United  States  and  is  under  a  provisional  gov- 
ernment. 

OHIO. 

Ohio  was  admitted  into  the  Union  on  the  29th  of  November, 
1802;  the  State  containing,  at  the  time,  72,000  inhabitants, 
12,000  more  than  was  required  in  order  to  its  admission.  It 
was  settled  in  the  spring  of  1788,  one  year  after  it,  with  a  vast 
additional  extent  of  North-Western  territory,  had  been  ceded, 
by  Virginia,  to  the  United  States. 

The  year  1788  was  a  famous  year  from  emigration.  It  wit- 
nessed the  passage  of  no  less  than  20,000  persons  down  the 
Ohio  river.  The  company  which  settled  Ohio  consisted  of  forty 
persons,  under  Gen.  Kufus  Putnam.  They  built  a  stockade  fort 
at  Marietta  of  sufficient  strength  to  resist  the  attacks  of  the 
natives,  cleared  several  acres  of  ground,  and  planted  a  crop. 
They  were  joined  by  twenty  additional  families  iu  the  autumn. 
Both  these  companies  were  New  England  people. 

For  a  number  of  years  they  were  not  troubled  by  the  savages, 
nor  did  any  of  their  number  trouble  the  Indians,  except  in  one 
or  two  instances.  The  earliest  settlers  of  Cincinnati  arrived 
there,  about  twenty  in  number,  in  1790.  Until  the  year  1795 
the  attempts  made  to  settle  most  parts  of  Ohio  were  attended 
with  great  difficulties,  on  account  of  Indian  wars.  Marietta, 
however,  formed  an  exception  to  this  rule.  After  the  great  vic- 
tory which  Gen.  Wayne  achieved  over  the  savages  during  Wash- 
ington's administration,  the  population  increased  rapidly.  Un- 
embarrassed by  any  centralizing  or  aristocratic  institutions, 
possessed  of  the  finest  natural  resources,  and  vitalized  by  an  en- 
terprising population,  Ohio,  after  its  admission  into  the  Union, 
made  anadvanci'inent  of  which  any  State  might  well  be  proUd. 
In  population  it  is  the  third  State  in  the  Union,  numbering 
2,390,502. 

At  the  breaking  out  of  the  rebellion  Ohio  took  its  position 
st-aunthly  for  the  Union,  and  has  done  much  during  the  war  for 


58  UlSTOEY    OF   STATES. 

the  restoration  of  the  authority  of  the  Government  over  the 
seceded  States. 

LOUISIANA 

Was  ceded  by  Spain  to  France  in  the  year  1802,  ;md  was  bought 
by  the  United  States,  of  the  latter  power,  in  1  S03,  at  a  cost  of 
SJ 5,000,000.  Gov.  Chiy borne  took  possession  of  it  tlie  same 
y(!ar.  It  was  settled  by  the  French,  at  Iberville,  in  1699,  and 
WIS  admitted  into  the  Union  April  8th,  181"J.  It  is  an  impor- 
tant State,  in  that  it  holds  the  keys  of  entrance  to  tlie  inouth  of 
t)ie  Mississippi.  In  the  year  IStJO,  nearly  ono-half  its  popula- 
tion was  slave.  It  seceded  from  the  Union  on  the  2iJth  of  Janu- 
ary, 1801.  Its  most  important  towns  are  now  (1804)  occupied 
by  the  Federal  forces.  Its  population  in  ISOO  was  708,002.  It 
has  been  a  very  forward  State  in  the  great  rebellion. 

INDI.VXA. 

About  the  year  1090,  a  French  settlement,  the  I'irst  in  Indiana, 
was  made  at  Vinccnnos,  that  place  lieing  witliiii  the  territory 
claimed,  at  that  time,  by  the  French,  upon  priority  of  discovery 
by  La  Salle.  Indiana  was  I<)ii<!;  the  residence  of  various  Indian 
tribes,  and  the  theatre  of  Indian  war-s.  liy  the  terms  of  the 
treaty  of  the  peace  of  17G."3,  it,  with  the  rest  of  the  North-Wes- 
tcrn  Territory,  was  ceded  to  Great  Britain.  It  was  still 
claimed  liy  the  Indians,  but,  by  various  treaties,  extensive  tracts 
were  obtained  for  settlement.  The  Indians,  however,  retained 
posses-Nion  of  many  parts  of  the  State  up  to  the  j-ear  1812,  and 
to  that  portion  known  as  the  Indian  Reserve,  even  later.  It  was 
erected  into  a  territory  in  1809,  and  on  the  11th  of  December, 
1810,  was  admitted  into  the  Union.  Its  population — 1,350,428 — 
in  tlic  year  180O  is  an  indication  of  its  progress.  In  the  matter 
of  education,  Indiana  is  somewhat  behind  some  of  her  Western 
sisters,  but  her  efforts  in  Iiehalf  of  the  (iovernmont,  during  the 
great  rebellion,  shall  halo  her  future  with  glory. 

Mississipri. 

The  territory  comprising  the  present  States  of  ^lississippi 
and  Alabama  having  Ijcen  divided,  that  portion  lying  next  the 
river  was,  in  1817,  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a  State,  under  the 
name  Mississippi,  while  the  eastern  portion  was  organized  as  a 
territory,  and  named  .\lal)iima.  The  whole  of  this  territory  was 
explored,  first  by  Keniinand  de  Soto,  and  afterw.irds  by  Ua  Salle. 
It  sull'ered  greatly  during  tlie  wars  of  the  Natchez  Indians. 
The  t'lioctaws,  for  a  long  time,  retained  possession  of  the  north- 


HISTORY   OF   STATES.  59 

ern  portion  of  it,  and  were  to  some  extent  civilized.  Mississ- 
ippi was  settled  by  the  French  in  1716,  at  Natchez.  Its  popu- 
lation— 791,305 — shows  fair  progress.  On  the  9th  of  January, 
1861,  it  went  the  way  of  the  seceding  States,  since  which  time 
its  course,  like  theirs,  has  been  downward. 

ILLINOIS. 

This  most  thriving  and  prosperous  State  came  into  the  Union 
on  the  3d  of  December,  1818.  Until  1809,  it  was  a  part  of  In- 
diana, at  which  time  it  became  a  separate  territory,  and  so  re- 
mained till  received  into  the  Union.  This  State  has  been  little 
disturbed  by  civil  divisions,  or  by  Indian  wars.  Its  most  serious 
troubles  arose  from  the  appearance,  within  its  borders,  of  the 
Mormons,  in  1838,  and  from  attempts  made  to  curb  their  irregu- 
larities. This  siugular  people,  believing  themselves  to  be  ill- 
treated,  assembled  to  the  number  of  700  under  their  leaders,  in 
a  remote  part  of  the  State,  and  proposed  fighting  for  their  rights. 
But  a  body  of  300  troops  marched  against  and  captured  them. 
The  whole  sect  was  ultimately  reduced  to  submission,  and  ban- 
ished the  State.  It  was  explored  by  La  Salle,  and  settled  by  the 
French  at  Kaskaskia,*  in  1720.  Its  growth  has  been  immense. 
Its  population  in  1860  was  1,711,951.  It  has  been  one  of  the 
most  forward  and  glorious  of  the  loyal  States  during  the  great 
rebellion. 

ALABAMA 

Was  admitted  to  the  Union  on  the  14th  of  December,  1819.  It 
has  a  deep,  rich  soil,  and  in  many  places  a  healthful  climate. 
It  remained  till  the  Revolution  a  mere  hunting  ground  of  the 
savages.  From  the  peace  of  1783  to  1802,  it  was  claimed  by 
Georgia,  and  lands  were  sold  to  settlers  and  speculators  accord- 
ingly. In  the  year  1802,  Georgia  ceded  all  her  western  territory 
to  the  United  States  for  $1,250^000.  In  1800,  the  present  State 
of  Alabama  became  a  part  of  Mississippi  Territory — from  which 
it  was  separated  when  Mississippi  became  a  State.  It  was  set- 
tled in  1711,  at  Mobile,  by  the  French,  being  a  part  of  the  ter- 
ritory explored  by  La  Salle  in  his  Mississippi  tour.  It  formally 
seceded  from  the  Union  January  11,  1861. 

MAINE. 

In  the  year  1638,  the  same  year  in  which  New  Haven  was 

'f  Kaskaskia,  the  first  capital  of  Illinois,  is  located  on  Kaskaskia  Biver,  and  is 
the  present  site  of  Vandalia. 


CO  HISTORY    OF   STATES. 

settled,  Ferdinand  Gorges  procured  a  charter  of  the  King  of 
Enghind  for  nil  the  lands  from  the  borders  of  New  Hampshire 
on  the  south-west  to  Ha^adahoc,  on  the  Kenebeck  river,  on  the 
north-east,  under  the  name  of  the  Province  of  Maine.  It  re- 
mained a  separate  province  till  1G52,  when  it  became  a  part  of 
Miu'^sachusetts.  Various  attempts  were  iuade  between  1785  and 
1802  to  form  it  into  an  independent  State;  but  these  eflbrts 
failed.  In  1819  a  large  majority  of  the  people  were  in  favor  of 
separating  from  Massachusetts.  A  convention  was  called,  a 
Constitution  prepared  and  adopted,  and  in  1820,  Maine  was 
received  into  the  Union.  Jt  is  l^y  no  means  an  agricultural 
State,  but  its  extensive  flsheries  and  great  lumber  trade  have 
greatly  enriched  it,  and  its  progress  in  morality  has,  perhaps, 
been  superior  to  that  of  any  other  State.  It  is  the  only  State  in 
the  Union  tliat  has  an  efficient  prohibitory  liquor  law.  It  proved 
itself  true  to  the  (iovernment  in  18(31,  and  there  is  no  danger 
o-f  its  ever  ceasing  to  be  so. 

It  was  settled  in  lf)25,  at  ]5ristol,  by  the  English.  Its  popu- 
laUon  is  628,279. 

JIISSOURI. 

This  great,  though  crippled,  State  was  admitted  into  the 
Union  on  the  lOth  of  August,  1821.  It,  with  all  the  territory 
then  belonging  to  the  United  States,  west  of  the  Mississippi, 
was  included  in  the  purchase  of  Louisiana,  made  in  1803. 
Louisiana  afterwards  was  divided  into  Orleans  Territory,  Lou- 
isiana proper,  and  Missouri  Territory.  In  1819,  Missouri  Ter- 
ritory was  divided  into  Arkansas  on  the  south,  and  Missouri  on 
the  north ;  and  it  was  about  this  time  that  the  latter  took  the 
requisite  steps  toward  framing  a  State  Constitution.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  this  is  the  State,  the  discussion  of  the  propri- 
ety of  the  admission  of  which  raised  such  a  storm  in  Congress 
in  1820. 

I^eing  a  border  slave  State,  it  was  nearly  equally  divided  on 
the  question  of  secession  in  1861,  and  thus,  like  Kentucky,  has 
been  overrun  by  both  Southern  and  Northern  troops  during  the 
Rebellion,  and  has  been  the  scene  of  much  blood-shed  and  ruin. 
It  was  settled  in  1764,  at  St.  Louis,  by  the  French.  Its  popu- 
lation is  1,182,012. 

FLORIDA. 

The  Peninsular  States,  discovered  and  explored  by  Ponce  de 
Leon,  a  voyager  with  Columbus,  and  whose  name  was  suggested 
to  the  discoverer  by  the  abundance  and  beauty  of  its  wild  flora, 
was,  from  1512  to  1819.  with  the  exception  of  the  interval  be- 


HISTOIIV   OF   STATES.  61 

tween  17G3  and  1783,  a  province  of  Spain.  The  first  attempt 
to  settle  it  -was  made  in  the  year  1565,  at  St.  Aii,i!;ustine,  which 
is  said  to  be  the  oldest  town  in  America,  by  the  Spaniards. 
This  efibrt  was  attended  with  many  difficulties,  the  colonists 
contending,  for  the  first  few  years,  alternately  with  tlie  horrors 
of  savage  "warfare  and  famine,  at  times  being  forced  to  subsist  • 
on  roots  and  acorns.  In  1819  it  was  transferred  to  the  United 
States  by  treaty,  which  treaty  was,  after  much  delay,  ratified  by 
Spain,  and  with  still  more  delay  by  the  United  States.  Pos- 
session of  the  colony  was  granted  the  Government  in  July,  1821. 
The  Territory  contained,  in  1840,  a  population  of  54,477,  and 
on  the  3d  of  March,  1845,  became  a  State  and  was  received  into 
the  Union.  Florida  was  the  theater  of  the  Seminole  war,  which 
cost  the  United  States  so  much  blood  and  treasure.  It  went 
the  way  of  the  seceding  States,  January  7th,  1861.  Florida, 
like  the  Indian's  gun,  has  "  cost  more  than  she  has  come  to." 
Her  population,  in  1860,  was  140,425. 

ARKANSAS. 

This  State  lies  south  of  Missouri,  and  was  once  attached  to  it. 
It  has  a  fine  climate  and  prolific  soil.  The  first  settlement  of 
whites  within  its  limits  was  made  at  Arkansas  Post,  in  the  year 
1685.  The  earlier  inhabitants  were  French.  Its  progress,  for 
many  years,  was  very  slow.  It  was  not  until  about  the  year 
1829  that  the  tide  of  emigration  began  to  flow  from  the  Atlantic 
States  in  that  direction.  "Little  Rock,  the  early  seat  of  govern- 
ment and  the  present  Capital,  was  laid  out  in  the  year  1820, 
during  which  year  the  first  steamboat  ascended  the  Arkansas 
river.  The  boat  was  eight  days  in  going  from  New  Orleans  to 
the  village  of  Arkansas — a  distance  of  scarcely  one^  hundred 
miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas  river.  The  State  once 
contained  the  remnants  of  several  powerful  tribes  of  Indians. 
By  a  treaty  made  between  the  Cherokees  and  the  United  States, 
the  former  agreed  to  give  up  all  their  lands  east  of  the  Missis- 
sippi river,  and  to  retire  to  a  region  guaranteed  to  them  in  the 
present  State  of  Arkansas. 

The  State  was  admitted  into  the  Union  on  the  15th  of  June, 
1836.  It  seceded  May  6th,  1861,  and  has  since  been  the  retreat 
of  guerrillas,  and  the  scene  of  some  sanguinary  battles. 

MICHIGAX 

Was  admitted  into  the  Union  January  26th,  1837.  It  had  the 
requisite  population  (60,000)  before  this,  but  there  were  some 
difBculties  in  the  way   of  its  admissioc.     In  1837  it  contained 


62  HISTORY    OF   STATES. 

200,000;  in  1840,  212,207,  and  in  1850,  851,470.  The  territory, 
when  first  discovered  by  the  whites,  contained  a  tribe  of  In- 
dians called  llurons  by  tlie  French,  and  Iroquois  by  the  Indians 
themselves.  Many  of  them  were  converted  to  Christianity,  by 
the  untirinj:^  labors  of  Catholic  Missionaries,  as  early  as  1G48. 
It  was  not,  however,  till  1G70  that  the  French  took  possession 
of  the  territory.  It  was  a  portion  of  the  extensive  tract  ex- 
plored by  the  assiduous,  daring  La  Salle.  Its  progress,  while  it 
belonged  to  the  French,  was  very  slow.  It  was  not  until  1763, 
when,  by  treaty,  it  was  ceded  to  Great  Britain,  tliat  much  was 
done  in  the  way  of  civilizing  and  improving  it.  Comparatively 
littk^,  in  fact,  was  done  until  1783,  when  the  territory  was  ceded 
by  England  to  the  United  States.  Until  1800  it  was,  for  pur- 
poses of  Government,  considered  a  part  of  the  Great  North 
Western  Territory.  After  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois  had  been 
severally  detached,  the  remainder,  in  1805,  became  a  distinct 
territory,  the  first  Governor  of  which  was  General  Hull,  by 
appointment  of  President  Jefferson.  Micliigan  suffered  much 
from  the  war  of  1812.  For  nearly  two  years  nearly  the  whole 
territory  was  the  theatre  of  sanguinary  conflicts.  It  was  ex- 
posed to  the  barbarity  of  the  enemy  and  their  Indian  allies. 
Since  then,  however,  its  enterprising  inhabitants  have  brought 
it  up  to  a  degree  of  improvement  which  few  States  of  its  age 
can  boast.  Its  strength  was  offered  the  Government  in  1861, 
and  it  continues  as  well  as  it  began.  Its  population,  in  ISCO, 
was  749,113. 

IOWA. 

This  State  derives  its  name  from  the  Indians.  It  was  inclu- 
led  in  the  Louisiona  purchase.  It  was  first  settled  at  Dubuque, 
oy  the  French,  in  the  year  1686.  This  settlement, _  however, 
does  not  seem  to  have  been  permanent,  nor  productive  of  any 
real  good  to  the  territory.  In  1833  Burlington  was  settled  by 
emigrants  from  the  eastern  States.  It  formed  a  part  of  Mis- 
souri from  1804  to  1821,  when  it  was  included  in  Michigan 
Territory.  It  subsequently  belonged  to  Wisconsin  Territory. 
It  was  admitted  into  the  Union  March  3d,  1845.  It  is  a  highly 
prosperous  State,  having  a  vast  extent  of  rich  soil  and  excellent 
pasturage.  It  is  faithful  to  the  Union ;  placed  itself  in  the  front 
rank  at  the  commencement  of  the  Rebellion. 


TEXAS. 

The  territory  of  Texas  was  explored  by  Ponce  de  Leon  and 
La  Salle.  After  Mexico  became  independent^  of  Spain,  a  grant 
which  had  been  made  to  Moses  Austin,  a  native  of  Connecticut;, 


HISTORY    OF   STATES.  63 

comprising  a  large  tract  of  this  province,  was  confirmed  hy  the 
now  RepuLilic;  and,  being  transferred  by  Moses  Austin,  at  his 
death,  to  his  son,  Stephen,  was  subsequently  enlarged  by  a  fur- 
ther graot.  Emigration  from  the  United  States  was  encouraged, 
and  in  1830  nearly  ten  thousand  Americans  were  settled  in 
Texas,  'i'he  prosperity  of  these  inhabitants  excited  the  jeal- 
ousy of  iMexieo,  and  under  the  administration  of  Santa  Anna, 
an  unjust,  oppressive  policy  was  adopted  toward  Texas.  Ke- 
Dionstrance  proving  useless,  the  people  of  the  territory  declared 
themselves  independent.  The  lievolution  began  in  1835,  by  a 
battle  at  (Jozales,  in  which  five  hundred  Texans  defeated  over 
one  thou.«and  Mexicans.  Other  engagements  followed,  the  re- 
sult of  which  Avas  the  dispersion  of  the  Mexican  army.  Santa 
Anna  now  redoubled  his  efforts,  and  appearing  in  March,  1835, 
with  a  force  of  eight  thousand  men,  several  bloody  battles  fol- 
lowed. On  the  21st  of  April,  having  under  his  immediate  com- 
mand one  thousand  and  five  hundred  men,  he  was  met  by  Gen. 
Sam.  Houston,  with  eight  hundred  men,  and  totally  defeated,  on 
tlie  banks  of  the  San  Jacinto.  Santa  Anna,  himself,  was  cap- 
tured t!ie  next  day  in  the  woods,  when  he  acknowledged  the 
independence  of  Texas,  though  the  Mexican  Congress  refused  to 
ratify  the  act.  Active  hostilities,  however,  were  now  abandoned, 
and  the  independence  of  Texas  was  acknowledged  by  the  United 
States,  Great  Britain  and  other  European  countries.  It  was  in 
this  condition  of  things  that  Texas  was  annexed  to  the  United 
States.  On  the  24th  of  December,  1845,  it  was  admitted  into 
the  Union,  which  act  was  ratified  by  the  Texan  Legislature," 
July  4th,  1846.  But  Mexico,  still  regarding  Texas  as  a  revolted 
province,  refused  to  acknowledge  the  validity  of  this  measure. 
The  result  was  a  war  between  Mexico  and  the  United  States, 
which  terminated  on  the  2d  of  February,  1848,  in  a  ti-eaty  by 
which  the  latter  power,  in  consideration  of  the  payment  of  a 
debt  of  $3,500,000,  due  from  Mexico  to  the  citizens  of  Texas, 
acquired  New  Mexico,  Texas  and  California.  The  progress  of 
Texas  from  this  time  till  the  eve  of  the  great  Kebellion,  vaa 
almost  unprecedented,  no  less  than  twenty-five  thousand  Ger- 
mans having  emigrated  to  that  State  in  five  years'  time.  These, 
however,  owing  to  the  jealousy  aroused  against  them  by  their 
having  demonstrated  the  superiority  of  free  labor,  even  in  a 
slave  State,  were  obliged  to  migrate  to  Mexico  in  the  year  1860. 
By  this  and  other  oppressive  acts  on  the  part  of  the  advocate& 
of  slaveiy,  Texas,  purchased  by  the  blood  and  treasure  of  the 
United  iStates,  was  driven  into  the  whirlpool  of  secession,  March 
4th,  1861.  Its  population,  in  1860,  was  604.215.  The  first  set- 
tlement within  its  borders  was  made  by  the  Spaniards,  at  St. 
Antonia  de  Bexar,  in  16'J0. 


64  HISTORY   OF   STATES. 

WISCONSIN 

^V'as  udinitted  into  the  Union  ^lay  29tli,  1848.  It  was  a  part 
of  tlie  extensive  territory  ceded  by  France  to  Great  Britain  in 
the  treaty  of  1763.  At  the  close  of  the  revolutiun  it  was  given 
up  by  (jireat  IJritain  to  the  United  States.  It  was  erected  into 
a  territory  in  1836,  the  portion  now  forming  the  State  of  Iowa 
l)oini£  detached  iu  1838.  Its  natural  resources  are  extraordi- 
nary, the  climate  being  very  liealthful,  and  the  soil  unsurpassed 
in  fertility.  It  was  settled  in  the  year  1669,  at  Green  Bay,  by 
the  French.  It  is  thoroughly  loyal  to  the  Union.  In  1860,  it 
had  a  population  of  775,881. 

MINNESSOTA 

Lies  north  of  Iowa,  and  extends  to  the  Canadian  boundary. 
On  the  north-east  it  touches  Lake  Superior,  and,  to  the  West,  is 
bounded  by  Dacotah  Territory.  It  comprises  tlie  head  waters 
of  the  Mississippi,  and  abounds  in  rivers  and  lakes,  teeming 
with  fish.  Its  soil  is  highly  prolific,  and  its  forests  are  among 
the  finest  in  the  \v(jrld.  Its  name  is  derived  from  ]\Iinnisotah, 
the  Indian  name  of  St.  Teter's  river.  Prinuirily  discovered  liy 
La  Salle,  it,  for  some  years,  belonged  to  the  French,  and  at  a  very 


t  was 
10  United 


'.    '  ^ ' o 1 

early  period  was  traversed  by  their  traders  and  soldiers 

ceded  to  Great  Britain  by  the  treaty  of  1763,  and  to  th_ 

States  at  the   peace  of  1783.     It   received   a   territorial  govern 

ment  in  1849,  and  was   admitted  into  the   Union  in  May^   1858. 

It  has  still,  within  its  borders,  several  bands  of  the  Chippewas, 

with  whom  con.siderable  trouble  has  bei'n  experienced  since  the 

breaking  out  of  the  rebellion,     it  is,  however,  ii  thrifty,  growing 

State,  and  is   thoroughly  loyal.     It   was   settled  in  1846,  at  St. 

Paul,  by  emigrants  from  the  eastern  States. 


OKKOON 


Was  admitted  into  the  Union  in  the  year  1850.  It,  primarily, 
included  Washington  Territory,  and,  with  the  latter,  comprised 
the  extensive  tract  lying  between  the  British  Possessions,  on  the 
north,  and  California,  on  the  south;  the  Bocky  Mountains  on 
the  cast,  and  the  Pacific  Ocean  on  the  west.  The  coasts  of 
this  region  were  discovered  by  the  Spaniards  in  the  16th  century. 
In  1792,  Capt.  (Jrey,  of  Boston,  discovered  and  entered  the  Colum- 
bia river,  and  thus  the  United  States  acquired  the  right  of  sover- 
eignty over  the  territory.  The  exploration  of  the  country  from 
the  i\lissouri  to  the  Columbia,  by  Lewis  and  Clark,  government 
appointees,  in  1804-5-6,  strengthened  this  claim.  The  British, 
however,  laid  claim  to  the  northern  t)art  of  the  territory,  which 


HISTORY   OF   STATES.  65 

gave  rise  to  a  threatenint^  dispute  between  Great  Britain  and 
the  United  States.  But  the  difficulty  was  adjusted  by  a  treaty  in 
1846,  establishing  the  boundary  of  49°,  north  latitude.  The 
State  still  contains  the  Flathead,  Pend  Oreille,  8pokane,  Shos- 
hane,  and  other  tribes  of  Indians,  who  are,  for  the  most  part,  in 
the  savage  state,  though  the  Christian  Missionaries  have  done 
much  in  the  way  of  civilizing  a  portion  of  them.  The  furs  of  this 
region,  those  of  the  badger,  beaver,  bear,  fisher-fox,  lynx,  mar- 
tin, mink,  muskrat,  etc.,  have  long  been  a  great  source  of  reve- 
nue. 

The  American  fur  companies  established  trading  posts  in 
Oregon  at  an  early  period,  that  of  Astoria  being  founded  in 
1810,  under  the  aupices  of  the  late  John  Jacob  Astor,  of  New 
York.  It  was  settled,  at  Astoria,  by  emigrants  from  the  Eastern 
States,  in  the  year  1811.  Its  population  amounted  to  52,465  in 
1860. 


KANSAS. 

About  the  development  of  this  young  State  cluster  some  of 
the  most  important  events  of  American  history.  Its  territorial 
organization,  by  the  passage  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill,  in 
1854,  reopened  the  agitation  of  the  slavery  question,  which  seem- 
ing to  have  acquired  fresh  vigor  and  virulence  from  the  sleep  it 
had  enjoyed  under  the  Missouri  Compromise,  thoroughly  aroused 
the  old  animosities  between  the  pro  and  anti-slavery  elements 
of  our  national  politics.  From  1854  to  1857  it  was  the  theater 
of  political  tragedies,  the  bare  mention  of  which  may  well  put 
the  blush  of  shame  upon  even  the  most  fool-hardy  partizan  ; 
and  the  historian  has  well  said  that  these  dire  afflictions  might 
have  been  expected  when  the  bill  organizing  Kansas  Territory 
was  passed.  No  sooner  was  it  decided  that  this  territory  was  open 
alike  to  the  abolitionist  and  the  slaveholder,  than  the  Emigrant 
Aid  Societies  of  New  England  and  the  pro-slavery  organizations 
of  the  South  began  pouring  streams  of  settlers  into  it  of  oppo- 
site political  views,  entertaining  the  most  hostile  feelings,,  each 
party  toward  the  other,  and  as  the  legitimate  result,  cams  a  civil 
war,  which  lasted  about  two  years,  and  which,  in.  some  of  its 
incidents  would  have  shamed  even  savages. 

The  Territory  made  application  to  Congress  in  1857,  for  a 
place  in  the  Union,  but  the  Constitution  under  whick  it  asked 
admission  (the  one  framed  at  Lecompton)  was  known  to  be  a 
fraudulent  affair,  and,  hence,  ELansas  was  rejected.  The  dis- 
cussion of  this  Constitution  caused  a  permanent  division  of  the 
Democratic  party.  The  Constitution  was  rejected  by  the  peo- 
ple of  Kansas  by  a  majority  of  10,000.     Kansas  was,  however, 

5 


66  HISTORY    OF    STATES. 

received  into  the  Union  in  1S61,  under  a  free  State  Constitu- 
tion, formed  at  Topeka. 

CALIFORNIA 

Was  admitted  into  the  Union  on  the  7tii  of  September,  1850. 
The  aUirming  discussion  which  occurred  upon  the  question  of 
admission  was  what  pave  rise  to  the  compromise  measures  of 
1S50,  popularly  styled  the  Omnibus  Bill.  The  measures  are 
presented  in  detail  in  another  part  of  this  work. 

General  Fremont,  with  a  small  but  dauntless  band  of  rangers, 
conquered  California  in  1846,  having  defeated  on  frequent  occa- 
sions, vastly  superior  forces  of  i\Iesicans.  Its  resources  as  a 
farming  country  early  attracted  attention.  l}ut  when,  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1848,  it  was  published  that  gold  in  quantities  had  been 
found  on  a  branch  of  the  Secramento,  the  swarm  of  emigrants 
which  rushed  in,  comprising  representatives  from  every  State 
in  the  Union,  and  from  nearly  all  the  nations  of  Europe,  was 
almost  incalculable.  From  a  email  village,  San  Francisco  was 
rapidly  inflated  to  a  large  city.  In  many  places  towns  sprang 
up  like  mush-roons.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  its  population  had 
been  thrown  hastily  together,  from  so  many  places,  and  in  con- 
sequence of  the  want  of  a  government,  Calilbrnia  was,  for  some 
time,  the  scene  of  many  dark  crimes  and  hideous  outrages. 
Never  was  the  want  of  wholesome  legal  restraint  more  keenly 
felt  than  here.  The  Constitution  of  California  was  framed  by 
a  convention  of  delegates  in  1849.  It  took  a  firm  stand  for  the 
Union  in  1861.  The  first  settlement,  within  its  limits,  was  made 
at  San  Diego,  by  the  Spanish,  in  1764.  It  furnishes,  annually, 
to  the  Government,  seventy  to  eighty  millions  of  dollars  in  gold. 


MISSOURI  COMPROMISE  OF  1820. 


When  Missouri  applied  for  admission  into  the  Union,  a  prop- 
osition was  started  in  Congress  to  prohibit  the  introduction  of 
slavery  into  the  new  State.  This  had  the  effect  of  arraying  the 
Sduth  against  the  North — the  shiveholding  against  the  non- 
slaveholding  States — and  the  whole  subject  of  slavery  became 
the  exciting  topic  of  debate  throughout  the  country.  The  ques- 
tion was  finally  settled  by  a  Comjrromise,  which  tolerated  slavery 
in  Missouri,  but  otherwise  prohibited  it  in  all  the  territory  of 
the  United  States  north  and  west  of  the  northern  limits  of  Ar- 


Icunsas. 


As  the  principle  then  settled  has  often  since  been  the  prolific 
source  of  much  sectional  controversy  and  angry  debate,  and  as 
it  is  desirable  that  every  one  should  be  familiar  with  the  real 
provisions  of  the  act  by  which  Missouri  was  admitted,  We  have 
concluded  to  insert  here  so  much  of  the  law  as  is  necessary  to  a 
full  understanding  of  the  subject.  All  the  sections  except  the 
following  relate  entirely  to  the  formation  of  the  Missouri  terri- 
tory, in  the  usual  form  of  territorial  bills: 

"Sec.  8.  That  in  all  that  territory  ceded  by  France  to  the 
United  States,  under  the  name  of  Louisiana,  which  lies  north 
of  thirty-six  degrees  and  thirty  minutes  north  latitude,  not  in- 
cluded within  the  limits  of  the  State  contemplated  by  this  act, 
slavery  and  involuntary  servitude,  otherwise  than  in  the  punish- 
ment of  crimes,  whereof  the  parties  shall  be  duly  convicted, 
shall  be,  and  is  herel)y,  forever  prohibited.  Provided  always, 
that  any  person  escaping  into  the  same,  from  whom  labor  or 
service  is  lawfully  claimed,  in  any  State  or  Territory  of  the 
United  States,  such  fugitive  may  be  lawfully  reclaimed  and  con 
veyed  to  the  person  claiming  his  or  her  labor  or  service  as  afore 
said." 


(67) 


FUGITIVE  SLAVE  LAW  OF  1850. 


An  Act  to  amend,  and  Bnpplemeutary  to,  the  Act  entitled,  "  An  Act  respectiu* 
Fugitives  from  Jfuslioo,  and  persons  esciipiug  from  the  Service  of  tlieir  Masters," 
approved  February  V2,  17'J3. 

Be  it  enacted  hy  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of 
the  United  States  of  America  in  Conr/ress  assembled,  Tliut  the 
persons  who  have  been,  or  may  hereafter  be,  appointed  Com- 
missioners, in  virtue  of  any  Act  of  Congress,  by  the  Circuit 
Courts  of  the  United  States,  and  who,  in  consequence  of  such 
appointment,  are  authorized  to  exercise  the  powers  that  any  jus- 
tice of  the  peace,  or  other  magistrate  of  any  of  the  United  States, 
may  exercise  in  respect  to  offenders  for  any  crime  or  offence 
against  the  United  States,  by  arresting,  imprisoning,  or  bailing 
the  same,  under  and  by  virtue  of  the  thirty-third  section  of  the 
act  of  the  twenty-fourth  of  September,  seven  hundred  and 
eighty-nine,  entitled,  "An  Act  to  establish  the  judiciiil  courts  of 
the  United  States,"  shall  be,  and  are  hereby,  authorized  and  re- 
quired to  exercise  and  discharge  all  the  powers  and  duties  con- 
ferred by  this  Act. 

Sec.  2.  That  the  Superior  Court  of  each  organized  territory 
of  the  United  States  shall  have  the  same  power  to  appoint  Com- 
missioners to  take  acknowledgments  of  bail  and  aflidavits,  and 
to  take  depositions  of  witnesses  in  civil  causes,  which  is  now 
possessed  by  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States;  and  all 
Commissioners  who  shall  hereafter  be  appointed  for  such  pur- 

Boses  by  the  Superior  Court  of  any  organized  territory  of  the 
nited  States,  shall  possess  all  the  powers,  and  exercise  all  the 
duties,  conferred  by  law  upon  the  Commissioners  appointed  by 
the  Circuit  Courts  of  the  United  States  for  similar  purposes,  and 
shall  moreover  exercise  and  discharge  all  the  powers  and  duties 
conferred  by  this  Act. 

Sec.  3.  That  the  Circuit  Courts  of  the  United  States,  and  the 
Superior  Courts  of  each  organized  territory  of  the  United  States, 
shall  from  time  to  time  enlarge  the  number  of  Commissioners 
with  a  view  to  afford  reasonable  facilities  to  reclaim  fugitives 
from  labor,  and  to  the  prompt  discharge  of  the  duties  imposed 
by  this  Act. 

Sec.  4.     That  the  Commissioners  above  named  sliall  have  con- 

(68.) 


FUGITIVE  SLAVE  LAW.  69 

current  jurisdiction  with  the  Judges  of  the  Circuit  and  District 
Courts  of  the  United  States,  in  their  respective  circuits  and  dis- 
tricts within  the  several  States,  and  the  Judges  of  the  Superior 
Courts  of  the  territories  severally  and  collectively,  in  term-time 
and  vacation;  and  shall  grant  certificates  to  such  claimants,  upon 
satisfactory  proof  being  made,  with  authority  to  take  and  re- 
move such  fugitives  from  service  or  labor,  under  the  restrictions 
herein  contained,  to  the  State  or  Territory  from  which  such  per- 
sons may  have  escaped  or  fled. 

Sec.  5.  That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  all  marshals  and  deputy 
marshals  to  obey  and  execute  all  warrants  and  precepts  issued 
under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  when  to  them  directed;  and 
should  any  marshal  or  deputy  marshal  refuse  to  receive  such 
warrant,  or  other  process,  when  tendered,  or  to  use  all  proper 
means  diligently  to  execute  the  same,  he  shall,  on  conviction 
thereof,  be  fined  in  the  sura  of  one  thousand  dollars,  to  the  use 
of  such  claimant,  on  the  motion  of  such  claimant,  by  the  Cir- 
cuit or  District  Court  for  the  district  of  such  marshal;  and  after 
arrest  of  such  fugitive,  by  such  marshal  or  his  deputy,  or  whilst 
at  any  time  in  his  custody,  under  the  provisions  of  this  act, 
should  such  fugitive  escape,  whether  with  or  without  the  assent 
of  such  marshal  or  his  deputy,  such  marshal  shall  be  liable,  on 
his  official  bond,  to  be  prosecuted  for  the  benefit  of  such  claim- 
ant, for  the  full  value  of  the  service  or  labor  of  said  fugitive  in 
the  State,  Territory,  or  district  whence  he  escaped;  and  the  bet- 
ter to  enable  said  Commissioners,  when  thus  appointed,  to  exe- 
cute their  duties  faithfully  and  efficiently,  in  conformity  with 
the  requirements  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and 
of  this  Act,  they  are  hereby  authorized  and  empowered,  within 
their  counties  respectively,  to  appoint,  in  writing  under  their 
hands,  any  one  or  more  suitable  persons,  from  time  to  time,  to 
execute  all  such  warrants  and  other  process  as  may  be  issued 
by  them  in  the  lawful  performance  of  their  respective  duties; 
with  authority  to  such  Commissioners,  or  the  persons  to  be  ap- 
pointed by  them,  to  execute  process  as  aforesaid,  to  -summon 
and  call  to  their  aid  the  bystanders,  or  posse  commitatus  of  the 
proper  county,  when  necessary  to  insure  a  faithful  observance 
of  the  clause  of  the  Constitution  referred  to,  in  conformity  with 
the  provisions  of  this  Act;  and  all  good  citizens  are  commanded 
to  aid  and  assist  in  the  prompt  and  efficient  execution  of  this 
law,  whenever  their  services  may  be  required,  as  aforesaid,  for 
that  purpose;  and  said  warrants  shall  run,  and  be  executed  by 
said  officers,  anywhere  in  the  State  within  which  they  are  issued. 

Si:c.  6.  That  when  a  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  any 
State  or  Territory  of  the  United  States,  has  heretofore  or  shall 
hereafter  escape  into  another  State  or  Territory  of  the  United 
States,  the  person  or  persons  to  whom-such  service  or  labor  may 


FCGITIVE  SLAVE  LAW. 


be  due,  or  his,  lier,  or  their  agent  or  attorney,  duly  authorized 
by  power  of  attorney,  in  writing  acknowledged  and  certified 
undfer  the  seal  of  some  legal  officer  or  Court  of  the  8tate  or 
Territory  in  which  the  same  may  be  executed,  may  pursue  and 
reclaim  such  fugitive  person,  cither  by  procuring  a  warrant  from 
some  one  of  the  Courts,  Judges,  or  Commissioners  aforesaid,  of 
the  proper  circuit,  district  or  county,  for  the  apprehension  of 
such  fugitive  from  service  or  labor,  or  by  seizing  and  arresting 
such  fugitive  where  the  same  can  be  done  without  process,  and 
by  taking  or  causing  such  person  to  be  taken  forthwith  before 
such  Court,  Judge  or  Commissioner,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to 
hear  and  determine  the  case  of  such  claimanfin  a  summary 
manner;  and  upon  satisfactory  proof  being  made,  by  deposition 
or  affidavit,  in  writing,  to  be  taken  and  certified  by  such  Court, 
Judge  or  Commissioner,  or  by  other  satisfactory  testimony,  duly 
taken  and  certified  by  some  Court,  Magistrate,  Justice  of  the 
Peace,  or  other  legal  officer  authorized  to  administer  an  oath  and 
take  depositions  under  the  laws  of  the  State  or  Territory  from 
which  such  person  owing  service  or  labor  may  have  escaped, 
with  a  certificate  of  such  magistracy,  or  other  authority  as 
aforesaid,  with  the  seal  of  the  proper  Court  or  officer  thereto 
attached,  Avhich  seal  shall  be  sufficient  to  establish  the  compe- 
tency of  the  proof,  and  with  proof,  also  by  affidavit,  of  the 
identity  of  the  person  whose  service  or  labor  is  claimed  to  be 
due  as  aforesaid,  that  tlie  person  so  arrested  does  in  fact  owe 
service  or  labor  to  the  person  or  persons  claiming  him  or  her,  in 
the  State  or  Territory  from  which  such  fugitive  may  have  es- 
caped as  aforesaid,  and  that  said  person  escaped,  to  make  out 
and  deliver  to  said  claimant,  his  or  her  agent  or  attorney,  a  cer- 
tificate setting  forth  the  substantial  facts  as  to  the  service  or  la- 
bor due  from  such  fugitive  to  the  claimant,  and  of  his  or  her 
escape  from  the  State  or  Territory  in  which  such  service  or  la- 
bor was  due  to  the  State  or  Territory  in  which  he  or  she  was 
arrested,  with  authority  to  such  claimant,  or  his  or  her  agent  or 
attorney,  to  use  such  reasonable  force  and  restraint  as  may  be 
necessary,  under  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  to  take  and  re- 
move such  fugitive  person  back  to  the  State  or  'J'erritory  whence 
he  or  she  may  have  escaped  as  aforesaid.  In  no  trial  or  hearing 
under  this  Act  shall  the  testimony  of  such  alleged  fugitive  be 
admitted  in  evidence;  and  the  certificates  in  this  and  the  first 
[fourth]  section  mentioned,  shall  be  conclusive  of  the  right  of 
the  person  or  persons  in  whose  favor  granted,  to  remove  such 
fugitive  to  the  State  or  Territory  from  wliich  he  escaped,  and 
shall  prevent  all  molestation  of  such  person  or  persons  by  any 
process  issued  by  any  Court,  Judge,  Magistrate,  or  other  person 
whomsoever. 

Bec.  7.     That  any  person  who  shall  knowingly  and  willingly 


FUGITIVE    SLAVE   LAW.  71 

obstruot,  hinder,  or  prevent  such  claimant,  his  agent  or  attor- 
ney, or  any  person  or  persons  lawfully  assisting  hiin,  her  or 
them,  from  arresting  such  a  fugitive  from  service  or  labor,  either 
with  or  without  process  as  aforesaid,  or  shall  rescue  or  attempt 
to  rescue  such  fugitive  from  service  or  labor,  from  the  custody 
of  such  claimant,  his  or  her  agent  or  attorney,  or  other  person 
or  persons  lawfully  assisting  as  aforesaid,  when  so  arrested  pur- 
suant to  the  authority  herein  given,  and  declared,  or  shall  aid, 
abet,  or  assist  such  person  so  owing  service  or  labor  as  afore- 
said, directly  or  indirectly,  to  escape  from  such  claimant,  his 
agent  or  attorney,  or  other  person  or  persons  legally  authorized 
as  aforesaid;  or  shall  harbor  or  conceal  such  fugitive  so  as  to 
prevent  the  discovery  and  arrest  of  such  person,  after  notice  or 
knowledge  of  the  fact  that  such  person  was  a  fugitive  from 
service  or  labor  as  aforesaid,  shall,  for  either  of  said  offences, 
be  subject  to  a  fine  not  exceeding  one  thousand  dollars,  and 
imprisonment  not  exceeding  six  months,  by  indictment  and  con- 
viction before  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  for  the 
district  in  which  such  offence  may  have  been  commited,  or  be- 
fore the  proper  court  of  criminal  jurisdiction,  if  committed 
within  any  one  of  the  organized  territories  of  the  United  States, 
and  shall  moreover  forfeit  and  pay,  by  way  of  civil  damages  to 
the  party  injured  by  such  illegal  conduct,  the  sum  of  one  thou- 
sand dollars,  for  each  fugitive  so  lost  as  aforesaid,  to  be  recov- 
ered as  aforesaid,  to  be  recovered  by  action  of  debt  in  any  of 
the  District  or  Tei'ritorial  Courts  aforesaid,  within  whose  juris- 
diction the  said  offence  may  have  been  committed. 

Sec.  8.  That  the  marshals,  their  deputies,  and  the  clerks  of 
the  said  District  and  Territorial  Courts,  shall  be  paid  for  their 
services  the  like  fees  .is  may  be  allowed  to  them  for  similar  ser- 
vices in  other  cases;  and  where  such  services  are  rendered 
exclusively  in  the  arrest,  custody,  and  delivery  of  the  fugitive 
to  the  claimant,  his  or  her  agent  or  attorney,  or  where  such  sup- 
posed fugitive  may  be  discharged  out  of  custody  for  the  want 
of  sufficient  proof  as  aforesaid,  then  such  fees  are  to  be  paid  in 
the  whole  by  such  claimant,  his  agent  or  attorney;  and  in  all 
cases  where  the  proceedings  are  before  a  Commissioner,  he  shall 
be  entitled  to  a  fee  of  ten  dollars  in  full  for  his  services  in  each 
case,  upon  the  delivery  of  the  said  certificate  to  the  claimant, 
his  or  her  agent  or  attorney;  or  a  fee  of  five  dollars  in  cases 
where  the  proof  shall  not,  in  the  opinion  of  such  Commissioner, 
warrant  such  certificate  and  delivery,  inclusive  of  all  services 
incident  to  such  arrest  and  examination,  to  be  paid  in  either 
case  by  the  claimant,  his  or  her  agent  or  attorney.  The  person 
or  persons  authorized  to  execute  the  process  to  be  issued  by 
such  Commissioner  for  the  arrest  and  detention  of  fugitives 
from  service  or  labor  as  aforesaid,  shall  also  be  entitled  to  a  feo 


72  FCGITIVE    SLAVE    LAW. 

of  five  dollars  uacli,  for  each  person  he  or  they  may  arrest  and 
take  before  any  such  Commissioner,  as  aforesaid,  at  the  instance 
and  request  of  such  claimant,  with  such  other  fees  as  may  be 
deemed  reasonable  by  sucii  Commissioners  for  such  other  addi- 
tional services  as  may  be  necessarily  performed  by  him  or  them  ; 
such  as  attcndinj^  at  the  examination,  keeping  the  fugitive  in 
custody,  and  providing  him  with  food  and  lodging  during  his 
detention,  and  until  the  final  determination  of  such  Commis- 
sioner; and,  in  general,  for  performing  such  other  duties  as 
may  be  required  by  such  claimant,  his  or  her  attorney  or  agent, 
or  Commissioner  in  the  premises.  Such  fees  to  be  made  up  in 
conformity  with  the  fees  usually  charged  by  the  officers  of  the 
courts  of  justice  within  the  proper  district  or  county,  as  near  as 
may  be  practicable,  and  paid  by  such  claimants,  their  agents  or 
attorneys,  whether  such  supposed  fugitives  from  service  or  labor 
be  ordered  to  be  delivered  to  such  claimants  by  the  final  deter- 
mination of  such  Commissioner  or  not. 

Sec.  9.  That,  upon  affidavit  made  by  the  claimant  of  such 
fugitive,  his  agent  or  attorney,  after  such  certificate  has  been 
issued,  that  he  has  reason  to  apprehend  that  such  fugitive  will 
be  rescued  by  force  from  his  or  her  possession  before  he  can  be 
taken  beyond  the  limits  of  the  State  in  which  the  arrest  is 
made,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  officer  making  the  arrest  to 
retain  such  fugitive  in  his  custody,  and  to  remove  him  to  the 
State  whence  he  fled,  and  there  to  deliver  him  to  said  claimant, 
his  agent  or  attorney.  And  to  this  end,  the  officer  aforesaid  is 
hereby  authorized  and  required  to  employ  so  many  persons  as 
he  may  deem  necessary  to  overcome  such  force,  and  to  retain 
them  in  his  service  so  long  as  circumstances  may  require.  The 
said  officer  and  his  assistants  while  so  employed  to  receive  the 
same  compensation,  and  to  be  allowed  the  same  expenses  as  are 
now  allowed  by  law  for  transportation  of  criminals,  to  be  certi- 
fied by  the  Judge  of  the  district  within  which  the  arrest  is 
made,  and  paid  out  of  the  treasury  of  the  United  States. 

Sec.  10.  Til  at  when  any  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in 
any  State  or  Territory,  or  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  shall 
escape  therefrom,  the  party  to  whom  such  service  or  labor  may 
be  due,  his,  her,  or  their  agent  or  attorney,  may  apply  to  any 
court  of  record  therein,  or  Judge  thereof  in  vacation,  and  make 
.-atisfactory  proof  to  such  court,  or  Judge  in  vacation,  of  the 
escape  aforesaid,  and  that  the  person  escaping  owed  service  or 
labor  to  such  party.  Whereupon  the  court  shall  cause  a  record 
to  be  made  o-f  the  matters  so  proved,  and  also  a  general  descrip- 
tion of  the  person  so  escaping,  with  such  convenient  certainty 
as  may  be;  and  a  transcript  of  such  record,  authenticated  by 
the  attestation  of  the  clerk  and  of  the  seal  of  the  said  court, 
being  produced  in  any  other  State,  Territory  or  District  in  which 


KirOITIVE    SLAVH    LAW.  73 

the  person  so  escaping  may  be  found,  and  being  exhibited  to 
any  Judge,  ronimissioncr,  or  other  officer  authorized  by  the  law 
of  tlie  United  States  to  cause  persons  escaping  from  service  or 
labor  to  be  delivered  up,  shall  be  held  and  taken  to  be  full  and 
conclusive  evidence  of  the  fact  of  the  escape,  and  that  the  ser- 
vice or  labor  of  the  person  escaping  is  due  to  the  party  in  such 
record  mentioned.  And  upon  the  production  by  the  said  party 
of  other  and  further  evidence  if  necessary,  either  oral  or  by 
affidavit,  in  addition  to  what  is  contained  in  the  said  record  of 
tlie  identity  of  the  person  escaping,  he  or  she  shall  be  delivered 
up  to  the  claimant.  And  the  said  Court,  Commissioner,  Judge, 
or  other  person  authorized  by  this  Act  to  grant  certificates  to 
claimants  of  fugitives,  shall,  upon  the  production  of  the  record 
and  other  evidences  aforesaid,  grant  to  such  claimant  a  certifi- 
cate of  his  right  to  take  any  such  person  identified  and  proved 
to  be  owing  service  or  labor  as  aforesaid,  which  shall  authorize 
such  claimant  to  seize  or  arrest  and  transport  such  person  to 
the  State  or  Territory  from  which  he  escaped  :  Provided,  That 
nothing  herein  contained  shall  be  construed  as  requiring  the 
production  of  a  transcript  of  such  record  as  evidence  as  afore- 
said. But  in  its  absence  the  claim  shall  be  heard  and  deter- 
mined upon  other  satisfactory  proofs,  competent  in  law. 
Approved  Sepiember  18,  1S5U. 

[The  above  law  was  repealed  by  the  3Sth  Congress,  1864.] 


KANSAS  AND  NEBRASKA  ACT  OF  1854. 


An  Act  to  Organize  the  Territories  of  Nebriuska  and  Kansas. 

Be  it  enacted  hy  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of 

the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  Tluit  all 
that  p:ivt  of  the  territory  of  the  United  States  included  within 
the  followin,^;  limits,  cxoept  such  portions  thereof  as  are  here- 
inafter expressly  exempted  from  the  operations  of  this  Act,  to- 
wit':  be^inninii  at  a  point  on  the  Missouri  river  where  the  for- 
tieth parallel  uf  north  latitude  crosses  the  same;  thence  west 
on  said  parallel  to  the  cast  boundary  of  the  Territory  of  Utah 
on  the  sununit  of  tlie  Kooky  ISIountains  ;  thence  on  said  summit 
northward  to  the  forty  ninth  parallel  of  north  latitude;  thence 
east  on  said  parallel  to  the  western  boundary  of  the  Territory 
of  Minnesota;  thence  southward  on  said  boundary  to  the  Mis- 
souri river;  thence  down  the  main  channel  of  said  river  to  the 
place  of  bci^InninL',  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  created  into  a 
temporary  frovernment  by  the  name  of  the  Territory  of  Ne- 
braska; and  when  admitted  as  a  State  or  States,  the  said  Terri- 
tory, or  any  portion  of  the  same,  shall  be  received  into  the 
Union  with  or  witiioiit  slavery,  as  their  Constitution  may  pre- 
scribe at  the  time  of  their  admission:  Provided,  That  nothing 
in  this  Act  contained  sliall  be  construed  to  inhibit  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  from  dividing  said  Territory  into 
two  or  more  Territories,  in  such  manner  and  at  such  times  as 
Congress  shall  deem  convenient  and  proper,  or  from  attaching 
any  portion  of  said  Territory  to  any  other  State  or  Territory  of 
the  United  States :  Provided,  further,  That  nothing  in  this  Act 
contained  shall  be  construed  to  impair  the  rights  of  person  or 
property  now  pertaining  to  the  Indians  in  said  Territory,  so 
long  as  such  rights  shall  remain  unextinguished  liy  treaty  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  such  Indians,  or  to  include  any 
Territory  which,  by  treaty  with  any  Indian  tribe,  is  not,  with- 
out the  consent  of  said  tril)e,  to  be  included  within  the  Terri- 
torial limits  or  jurisdiction  of  any  State  or  Territory;  but  all 
such  Territory  shall  be  excepted  out  of  the  boundaries,  and 
constitute  no  part  of  tlie  Territory  of  Nebraska,  until  said  tribe 
shall  signify  ttieir  assent  to  tlie  President  of  the  United  States 
to  be  incrluded    witliin   tlic   said   Territory    of  Nebraska,    or  to 

(71) 


KANSAS    AND    XF.r.UASKA     ACT.  75 

affect  the  authority  of  the  (.Government  of  the  United  States  to 
make  any  re,:^ulations  respectinii;  s^uch  Indians,  their  hinds, 
property  or  other  rights,  by  treaty,  law,  or  otherwise,  which  it 
•would  have  been  competent  to  the  Covernment  to  make  if  tliia 
Act  had  never  passed. 

Sec.  2.  That  the  executive  power  and  authority  in  and  over 
said  Territory  of  Nebraska  shall  be  vested  in  a  (Jovernor,  who 
shall  hold  his  office  for  four  years,  and  until  his  successor  siiall 
be  appointed  and  qualified,  unless  sooner  removed  by  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States.  The  Governor  shall  reside  Avithin 
said  Territory,  and  shall  be  commander-in-chief  of  the  militia 
thereof  lie  may  grant  pardons  and  respites  for  offences  against 
the  laws  of  said  Territory,  and  reprieves  for  offences  against 
the  laws  of  the  United  States,  until  tlie  decision  of  the  Presi- 
dent can  be  made  known  thereon;  he  shall  commission  all  offi- 
cers who  shall  be  appointed  to  ofiSce  under  the  laws  of  the  said 
Territory,  and  shall  take  care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully 
executed. 

Sec.  3.  That  there  shall  be  a  Secretary  of  said  Territory, 
who  shall  reside  therein,  and  hold  his  office  for  five  years,  unless 
sooner  removed  by  the  President  of  the  United  States;  he  shall 
record  and  preserve  all  the  laws  and  proceedings  of  tlie  Legis- 
lative Assembly  hereinafter  constituted,  and  all  the  act.s  and 
proceedings  of  the  Governor  in  his  executive  department;  he 
shall  transmit  one  copy  of  the  laws  and  journals  of  the  Legis- 
lative Assembly  within  thirty  days  after  the  end  of  each  session, 
and  one  copy  of  the  executive  proceedings  and  official  corres- 
pondence semi-annually,  on  the  first  days  of  January  and  July 
in  each  year,  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  two 
copies  of  the  laws  to  the  President  of  the  Senate  and  to  the 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Ivepresentatives,  to  be  deposited  in  the 
libraries  of  Congress;  and,  in  case  of  the  death,  removal,  resig- 
nation, or  absence  of  the  Governor  from  the  Territory,  the  Sec- 
retary shall  be,  and  he  is  hereby  duly  authorized  and  required 
to  execute  and  perform  all  the  powers  and  duties  of  the  (gover- 
nor during  such  vacancy  or  absence,  or  until  another  Governor 
shall  be  duly  appointed  and  qualified  to  fill  such  vacancy. 

Sec.  4.  That  the  legislative  power  and  authority  of  said  Ter- 
ritory shall  be  vested  in  tiie  (Jovernor  and  a  Legislative  Assem- 
bly. The  Legislative  Assembly  shall  consist  of  a  Council  and 
House  of  Representatives.  The  Council  shall  consist  of  thir- 
teen members,  having  the  qualifications  of  voters,  as  hereinafter 
prescribed,  whose  term  of  service  shall  continue  two  years.  The 
House  of  liepresentatives  shall,  at  its  first  session,  consist  of 
twenty-six  members,  possessing  the  same  qualifications  as  pre- 
scribed for  members  of  the  Council,  and  whose  term  of  service 
shall  continue  one  year.     The  number  of  Representatives  may 


70  KANSAS    AND     NEBRASKA    ACT. 

be  increased  by  tlie  liCgislative  Asseiubly,  from  time  to  time,  in 
proportion  to  the  increase  of  qualified  voters:  Provided,  That 
the  whole  number  shall  never  exceed  thirty-nine;  an  apportion- 
ment shall  be  made  as  nearly  equal  :is  practicable,  among  the 
several  counties  or  districts,  for  the  election  of  the  (.'ouncil  and 
Representatives,  giving  each  section  of  the  Territory  represen- 
tation in  the  ratio  of  its  qualified  voters  as  nearly  as  may  be. 
And  the  members  of  the  Council  and  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives shall  reside  in,  and  be  inhabitants  of,  the  district  or 
county,  or  counties,  for  which  they  may  be  elected  respectively. 
Previous  to  the  first  election,  the  (Jovernor  shall  cause  a  census 
or  enumeration  of  the  inhabitants  and  qualified  voters  of  the 
several  counties  and  districts  of  the  Territory,  to  be  taken  by 
such  persons  and  in  such  mode  as  the  Covcrnor  shall  designate 
and  appoint;  and  the  persons  so  appointed  shall  receive  a  rea- 
sonable compensation  therefor.  And  the  first  election  shall  be 
held  at  such  times  and  places,  and  be  conducted  in  such  man- 
ner, both  as  to  the  persons  who  shall  superintend  such  election 
and  the  returns  thereof,  as  the  Governor  shall  appoint  and  di- 
rect; and  he  shall  at  the  same  time  declare  the  number  of  mem- 
bers of  the  Council  and  House  of  Representatives  to  which  each 
of  the  counties  or  districts  shall  be  entitled  under  this  Act.  The 
persons  having  the  highest  number  of  legal  votes  in  each  of 
said  Council  districts  for  members  of  the  Council,  shall  be  de- 
clared by  the  (Jovernor  to  be  duly  elected  to  the  Council;  and 
the  persons  having  the  highest  number  of  legal  votes  for  the 
House  of  Representatives,  shall  be  declared  by  the  (Jovernor  to 
be  duly  elected  members  of  said  House:  Provided,  That  in  case 
two  or  more  persons  voted  for  shall  have  an  equal  number  of 
votes,  and  in  case  a  vacancy  shall  otherwise  occur  in  either 
branch  of  the  Legislative  Assembly,  the  (Jovernor  shall  order  a 
new  election ;  and  the  persons  thus  elected  to  the  Legislative 
Assembly  shall  meet  at  such  place  and  on  such  day  as  the  (iov- 
ernor  shall  appoint;  but  thereafter,  the  time,  place,  and  manner 
of  holding  and  conducting  all  elections  by  the  people,  and  the 
apportioning  the  representation  in  the  several  counties  or  dis- 
tricts to  the  (Council  and  House  of  IJeprcsentatives,  according  to 
the  number  of  qualified  voters,  shall  be  prescribed  by  law,  as 
well  as  the  day  of  the  commencement  of  the  regular  sessions  of 
tiie  Legislative  Assembly:  Provided,  That  no  session  in  any 
one  year  shall  exceed  the  term  of  forty  days,  except  the  first  ses- 
sion, which  may  continue  sixty  days. 

Sec.  5.  That  every  free  white  male  inhabitant,  above  the  age 
of  twenty-one  years,  who  shall  be  an  actual  resident  of  said 
territory,  and  shall  possess  the  qualifications  hereinafter  pre- 
Rcrilied,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  the  first  election,  and  shall 
be  eligible  to  any  office  within  the  said  territory  ;   but  the  quali- 


KANSAS      AM)     NEUKASKA    ACT.  77 

fications  of  voters,  and  of  Iiolding  office,  at  all  subsequent  elec- 
tions, shall  be  such  as  sliall  be  prescril)ed  by  the  l^egislative 
Assembly:  Provided,  'i'hat  the  right  of  suffrage  and  of  holding 
office  shall  be  exercised  only  by  citizens  of  the  United  States 
and  those  who  shall  have  declared  on  oath  their  intention  to 
become  such,  and  shall  have  taken  an  oath  to  support  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States  and  the  provisions  of  this  act: 
And  provided  further,  That  no  officer,  soldier,  seaman,  or  ma- 
rine, or  other  person  in  the  army  or  navy  of  the  United  States, 
or  attached  to  troops  in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  shall 
be  allowed  to  vote  or  hold  office  in  said  territory,  by  reason  of 
being  on  service  therein. 

Sec.  6.  That  the  legislative  power  of  the  Territory  shall  ex- 
tend to  all  rightful  subjects  of  legislation  consistent  with  the 
Constitution  of  United  States  and  the  provisions  of  this  Act;  but 
no  law  shall  be  passed  interfering  with  the  primary  disposal  of 
the  soil;  no  tax  shall  bo  imposed  upon  the  property  of  the  United 
States;  nor  shall  the  lands  or  otlier  property  of  non-residents 
be  taxed  higher  than  the  lands  or  other  property  of  residents. 
Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  Council  and  House  of 
Representatives  of  said  Territory,  shall,  before  it  become  a  law, 
be  presented  to  the  Governor  of  the  Territory;  if  he  approve,  he 
shall  sign  it;  but  if  not,  he  shall  return  it  Avith  his  objections  to 
the  House  in  which  it  originated,  who  shall  enter  the  objections 
at  large  on  their  journal,  and  proceed  to  reconsider  it.  If,  after 
such  reconsideration,  two-thirds  of  that  House  shall  agree  to 
pass  the  bill,  it  shall  be  sent,  together  with  the  objections,  to  the 
other  House,  by  which  it  shall  likewise  be  reconsidered,  and  if 
approved  by  two-thirds  of  that  House,  it  shall  become  a  law. 
But  in  all  such  oases  the  votes  of  both  Housesshall  be  deter- 
mined by  yeas  and  nays,  to  be  entered  on  the  journal  of  each 
House  respectively.  If  any  bill  shall  not  be  returned  by  the 
Governor  within  three  days  (Sundays  excepted)  after  \i  shall 
have  been  presented  to  him,  the  same  shall  be  a  law  in  like 
manner  as  if  he  had  signed  it,  unless  the  Assembly,  by  adjourn- 
ment, prevent  its  return,  in  which  case  it  shall  not  be  a  law. 

Sec.  7.  That  all  township,  district,  and  county  officers,  not 
herein  otherwise  provided  for,  shall  be  appointed  or  elected,  as 
the  case  may  be,  in  such  manner  as  shall  be  provided  by  the 
Governor  and  Legislative  Assembly  of  the  Territory  of  Nebraska. 
The  Governor  shall  nominate,  and,  by  and  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  Legislative  Council,  appoint  all  officers  not  here- 
in otherwise  provided  for;  and  in  the  first  instance  the  Governor 
alone  may  appoint  all  said  officers,  who  shall  bold  their  offices 
until  the  end  of  the  first  session  of  the  Legislative  Assembly; 
and  shall  lay  off  the  necessary  districts  for  members  of  the 
Council  and  House  of  Representatives,  and  all  other  officers. 


78  KANSAS     AND     NEBRASKA    ACT 

Pkc.  <S.  Tli;it  no  nieinlier  (if  the  Legislative  AssoinMy  shall 
hold,  or  be  appointed  to,  any  office  which  may  liave  been  created, 
or  tlie  salary  or  emoluments  of  which  shall  have  been  increased, 
while  he  was  a  member,  during  the  term  for  which  he  was 
elected,  and  for  one  year  after  the  expiration  of  such  term;  but 
this  restriction  shall  not  be  applicable  to  incinljers  of  the  first 
Lcf^islative  Assembly;  and  no  person  holding  a  commission  or 
appointment  under  the  United  States,  except  postmasters,  shall 
be  a  member  of  the  Legislative  Assemlily,  or  shall  hold  any 
office  under  the  government  of  said  Territory. 

Sice.   9.     That   the  judicial   power  of  said   Territory  shall  be 
vested  in  a  Supreme  Court,  District  Courts,  Probate  Courts,  and 
in  Justices  of  the  Peace.     The  Supreme  Courtshall  consist  of  a 
(/liief  Justice  and  two  Associate  Justices,  any  two  of  whom  shall 
Constitute   a  quorum,  and  who   shall  hold  a  term  at  the  seat  of 
government  of  said  Territory  annually,  and  they  shall  hold  their 
offices  during  the  period  of  four  years,  and  until  their  successors 
shall  be  appointed   and  qualified.      The  said  Territory  shall  be 
divided  into  three  judicial  districts,  and   a   District  Court  shall 
be  held  in  each  of  said  districts   by  one  of  the  Justices  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  at  such  times  and  places  as  may  be  prescribed  by 
law;  and  the  said  Judges  shall,  after  their  appoiiitnicnt;*,  respec- 
tively reside  in  the  district  which  be  assigned  them.     The  juris- 
diction of  the  several  courts  herein  provided  for,  both  appellate 
and  original,  and  that  of  the  Probate  Courts  and  of  Justices  of  the 
Peace,  shall  be  limited  by  law:   Provided,  That  Justices  of  the 
Peace  shall  not  have  jurisdiction  of  tiie  matter  in   controversy 
when  the  title  or  boundaries  of  land  may  be  in  dispute,  or  where 
the  debt  or  sum  claimed  shall  exceed  one  hundred  dollars;  and 
the  said  Supreme  and  District  Courts,  respectively,  sliull  possess 
chancery  as  well  as  common  law  juristion.     Each  District  C\)urt, 
or  the  judge  thereof,   shall   appoint  its  clerk,  who  shall  also  be 
the  register  in  chancery,  and   shall   keep  his  office  at  the  place 
where  the  Court  may  be  held.     Writs   of  error,  bills  of  excep- 
tion, and  appeals,  shall  be   allowed   in   all   cases  from   tlie  final 
decision  of  said  District  Courts  to   the   Supreme   Court,    under 
such  regulations  as  may  be  prescribed  by  law;  but  in  no  case 
removed  to  the  Supreme  Court  shall  trial  by  jury  be  allowed  by 
said  Court.      The   Supreme  Court,  or  the   .lustices  tiiercof,  shall 
appoint  its  own  clerk,  and  every  clerk  shall  hold  his  office  at  the 
pleasure  of  the  Court  for  which  he  shall  have  been  appointed. 
Writs  of  error,  and  appeals  from  the  final  decision  of  said  Su- 
preme Court,  shall  be  allowed,  and  maybe  taken  to  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  in  the  same  manner  and  under  the 
same  regulations  as  from  the  Circuit  Courts  of  the  United  States, 
where  the  value  of  the  property,  or  the  amount  in  controversy,  to 
be  ascertained  by  the  oath  or  affirmation  of  either  party,  or  other 


KANSAS    AND    NEBRASKA   ACT.  79 

competent  witness,  shall  exceed  one  thousand  dollars  ;  except 
only  that  in  all  cases  involving  title  to  slaves,  the  said  writs  of 
error  or  appeals  shall  be  allowed  and  decided  by  tiie  said  Su- 
preme Court,  without  regard  to  the  value  of  the  matter,  prop- 
erty, or  title  in  controversy;  and  except  also  that  a  writ  of  error 
or  appeal  shall  also  be  allowed  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States,  from  the  decisions  of  the  said  Supreme  Court 
created  by  this  Act,  or  of  any  judge  thereof,  or  of  the  District 
Courts  created  by  this  Act,  or  of  any  Judge  thereof,  upon  any 
writ  of  habeas  corpus,  involving  the  question  of  personal  free- 
dom :  Provided,  That  nothing  herein  contained  shall  be  con- 
strued to  apply  to  or  affect  provisions  of  the  "Act  respecting 
fugitives  from  justice,  and  persons  escaping  from  the  service  of 
their  masters,"  approved  February  12th,  1793,  and  the  "Act  to 
amend  and  supplementary  to  the  aforesaid  Act,"  approved  Sep- 
tember IS,  185(J;  and  each  of  the  said  District  Courts  shall  have 
and  exercise  the  same  jurisdiction  in  all  cases  arising  under  the 
Constitution  and  laws  of  the  United  States  as  is  vested  in  the 
Circuit  and  District  Courts  of  the  United  States;  and  the  said 
Supreme  and  District  Courts  of  the  said  Territory,  and  the  re- 
spective judges  thereof,  shall  and  may  grant  writs  of  habeas 
corpus  in  all  cases  in  which  the  same  are  granted  by  the  judges 
of  the  United  States  in  the  District  of  Columbia;  and  the  first 
six  days  of  every  term  of  said  courts,  or  so  much  thereof  as 
shall  be  necessary,  shall  be  appropriated  to  the  trial  of  causes 
arising  under  the  said  Constitution  and  laws,  and  writs  of  error 
and  appeal  in  all  such  cases  shall  be  made  to  the  Supreme  Court 
of  said  Territory,  the  same  as  in  other  cases.  The  said  clerk 
shall  receive  in  all  such  cases  the  same  fees  which  the  clerks  of 
the  District  Courts  of  Utah  Territory  now  receive  for  similar 
services. 

Sec.  10.  That  the  provisions  of  an  Act  entitled  "an  Act  re- 
specting fugitives  from  justices,  and  persons  escaping  from  the 
service  of  their  masters,"  approved  February  12,  17U3,  and  the 
provisions  of  the  Act  entitled  "an  Act  to  amend,  and  supplemen- 
tary to,  the  aforesaid  Act,"  approved  September  18,  1850,  be, 
and  the  same  are  hereby,  declared  to  extend  to  and  be  in  full 
force  within  the  limits  of  said  Territory  of  Nebi-aska. 

Sec.  11.  That  there  shall  be  appointed  an  attorney  for  said 
Territory,  who  shall  continue  in  office  for  four  years,  and  until 
his  successor  shall  be  appointed  and  qualified,  unless  sooner 
removed  by  the  President,  and  who  shall  receive  the  same  fees 
and  salary  as  the  attorney  of  the  United  States  for  the  pi-esent 
Territory  of  Utah.  There  shall  also  be  a  marshal  for  the  Ter- 
ritory appointed,  who  shall  hold  his  office  for  four  years,  and 
until  his  successor  shall  be  appointed  and  qualified,  unless 
sooner  removed  by  the  President,  and  who  shall  execute  all  pro- 


80  KANSAS    AND     NEBUASKA    ACT. 

cesses  issuing  from  tlie  saiJ  courts  when  exercising  their  juris- 
diction as  Circuit  and  District  Courts  of  the  United  States;  he 
shall  perform  the  duties,  be  sulyect  to  the  same  regulations  and 
penalties,  and  be  entitled  to  the  same  foos  as  the  marshal  of  the 
District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  present  Territory  of 
Utah,  and  shall,  in  addition,  be  paid  two  hundred  dollars  annu- 
ally as  a  compensation  for  extra  services. 

Seo.  12.     That  the  Governor,    Secretary,   Chief  Justice,  and 
Associate  Justices,  Attorney,  and  Marshal,  shall  be  nominated, 
and,  by  and  with    the    advice    and    consent   of  the    Senate,  ap- 
pointed by  the  President  of  the  United  States.      The  Governor 
and  Secretary  to  be  appointed  as  aforesaid,   shall,    before  they 
act  as  such,  respectively  take  an  oath  or  affirmation  before  the 
District  Judge    or  some  Justice    of  the  Peace  in  the  limits  of 
said  Territory,  duly  authorized  to  administer  oaths  and  affirma- 
tions by  the  laws    now  in    force  therein,  or   before  the    Chief 
Justice  or  some  Associate  Justice  of  tlie   Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States,  to  Support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
and  faithfully  to  discharge  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices, 
which  said  oaths,  when  so  taken,   shall   be  certified   by  the  per- 
son by  whom  the  same  shall  have  been  taken;   and  such  certifi- 
cates shall    be    received  and    recorded  by    the  said    Secretary 
among  the  executive  proceedings;    and   the   Chief  Justice  and 
Associate  Justices,  and  all  other  civil  officers  in  said  Territory, 
before  they  act  as  such,  shall    take    a   like    oath  or    affirmation 
before  the  said  Governor  or  Secretary,  or  some  Judge  or  Justice 
of  the  Peace  of  the  Territory  who  may  be   duly   commissioned 
and  qualified,  which  said  oath   or  affirmation   shall   be  certified 
and  transmitted  l)y  the  person  taking  the  same  to  the  Secretary, 
to  be  by  him  recorded   as  aforesaid;    and   afterwards,   the  like 
oath  or  affirmation  shall   be   taken,   certified,   and   recorded,  in 
such  manner  and  form  as  may  be  prescribed  by  law.     The  Gov- 
ernor shall  receive  an  annual  salary  of  two   thousand   five  hun- 
dred dollars.     The   Chief  Justice  and  Associate  Justices  shall 
receive  an  annual  salary  of  two  thousand  dollars.      The  Secre- 
tary shall    receive  an    annual  salary    of  two  thousand  dollars. 
The  said  salaries  shall  be  paid  quarter-yearly,    from  the  dates 
of  the  respective  appointments,    at  the  treasury  of  the  United 
States;  but  no  such  payment  shall   be   made    until  said  officers 
shall  have  entered  u{ion  the  duties  of  their  respective  appoint- 
ments.    The  members  of  the  Legislative   Assembly   shall  be 
entitled  to  receive  three  dollars   each   per  day   during  their  at- 
tendance  at   the  sessions    thereof,    and  three  dollars   each  for 
every  twenty  miles'  travel  ia  going  to  and    returning  from  the 
said  sessions,  estimated  according  to  the  nearest  usually  traveled 
route ;   and  an    additional    allowance  of  three   dollars    shall  be 
paid  to  the  presiding  officer  o.f  each  House  for  each  day  he  shall 


KANSAS    AXD     XKIUiASKA     At'Ti  81' 

80  pi-eside.  And  a  chief  clerk,  one  as.si.stant  clerk,  a  sergeant- 
at-arms,  and  door-keeper,  may  be  chosen  Ibr  each  House  ;  and  the 
chief  clerk  shall  receive  $4  per  day,  and  the  said  other  officers  $3 
per  day,  during  the  session  of  the  Legislative  Assembly;  but  no 
other  officers  shall  be  paid  by  the  United  States:  Provided,  That 
there  shall  be  but  one  session  of  the  Legislature  annuall}',  unless, 
on  an  extraordinary  occasion,  the  Governor  shall  think  proper  to 
call  the  Legislature  together.  There  shall  be  appropriated,  annu- 
ally,the  usual  sum,  to  be  expended  by  the  Clovernor,  todefray  tiie 
contingent  expenses  of  the  Territory,  including  the  salary  of  a 
Clerk  of  the  Executive  Department;  and  there  shall  also  be 
appropriated,  annually,  a  sufficient  sum,  to  be  expended  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Territory,  and  upon  an  estimate  to  be  made  by 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  to  defray 
the  expenses  of  the  Legislative  Assembly,  the  printing  of  the 
laws,  and  other  incidental  expenses;  and  the  Governor  and 
Secretary  of  the  Territory  shall,  in  tlie  disbursement  of  all 
moneys  intrusted  to  them,  be  governed  solely  by  the  instruc- 
tions of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  and 
shall,  semi-annually,  account  to  the  said  Secretary  for  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  aforesaid  moneys  shall  have  been  expended; 
and  no  expenditure  shall  be  made  by  said  Legislative  Assembly 
for  objects  not  specially  authorized  by  the  Acts  of  Congress 
making  the  appropriations,  nor  beyond  the  sums  thus  appropri- 
ated for  such  objects. 

Skc.  L3.  That  the  Legislative  Assembly  of  the  Territory  of 
Nebraska  shall  hold  its  first  session  at  such  time  and  place  in 
said  Territory  as  the  Governor  thereof  shall  appoint  and  direct; 
and  at  said  first  session,  or  as  soon  thereafter  as  they  shall 
deem  expedient,  the  Governor  and  Legislative  Assembly  shall 
proceed  to  locate  and  establish  the  seat  of  government  for  said 
Territory  at  such  place  as  they  may  deem  eligible;  which  place, 
however,  shall  thereafter  be  subject  to  be  changed  by  the  said 
Governor  and  Legislative  Assembly. 

Skc.  14.  That  a  delegate  to  the  House  of  Representatives  of 
the  United  States,  to  serve  for  the  term  of  two  years,  Avho  shall 
be  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  may  be  elected  by  the  voters 
qualified  to  elect  members  of  the  Legislative  Assembly,  who 
shall  be  entitled  to  the  same  rights  and  privileges  as  are  exer- 
cised and  enjoyed  by  the  delegates  from  the  several  other  Terri- 
tories of  the  United  States  to  the  said  House  of  Kepresentatives, 
but  the  delegate  first  elected  shall  hold  his  seat  only  during  the 
term  of  the  Congress  to  which  he  shall  be  elected.  The  first 
election  shall  be  held  at  such  time  and  places,  and  be  conducted 
in  such  manner,  as  the  Governor  shall  appoint  and  direct;  and 
at  all  subsequent  elections  the  times,  places,  and  mannor  of 
holding  the  elections  shall  be  prescribed  by  law.      The  person 


82  KAKSAS    AN'D    NEBRASKA    ACT. 

having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  shall  be  declared  by  the 
Governor  to  be  duly  elected,  and  a  certiQcate  thereof  shall  be 
given  accordinffly.  That  the  Constitution,  and  all  the  laws  of 
the  United  kStates  which  arc  not  locally  inapplicable,  shall  have 
the  same  force  and  effect  within  the  said  Territory  of  Nebraska 
as  elsewhere  within  the  United  States,  except  the  eighth  sec- 
tion of  the  Act  preparatory  to  the  admission  of  Missouri  into 
the  Union,  approved  March  sixth,  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty, 
which,  being  inconsistent  with  the  principle  of  non-intervention 
l)y  Congress  with  slavery  in  the  States  and  Territories,  as  recog- 
nized by  the  legislation  of  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty,  com- 
monly called  the  Compromise  Measures,  is  hereby  declared  in- 
operative and  void;  it  being  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of 
this  Act  not  to  legislate  slavery  into  any  Territory  or  State,  nor 
to  exclude  it  therefrom,  but  to  leave  the  people  thereof  perfectly 
free  to  form  and  regulate  their  domestic  institutions  in  their 
own  way,  subject  only  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States: 
Provided,  That  nothing  herein  contained  shall  be  construed  to 
revive  or  put  in  force  any  law  or  regulation  which  may  have 
existed  prior  to  the  Act  of  sixth  March,  eighteen  hundred  and 
twenty,  either  protecting,  establishing,  prohibiting,  or  abolish- 
ing slavci'y. 

Sec.  15.  That  there  shall  hereafter  bo  appropriated,  as  haa 
been  customary  for  the  territorial  governments,  a  sufficient 
amount,  to  be  expended  under  the  direction  of  the  said  Governor 
of  the  'J'erritory  of  Nebraska,  not  exceeding  the  sums  heretofore 
appropriated  for  similar  objects,  for  the  erection  of  suitable 
public  buildings  at  the  seat  of  government,  and  for  the  purchase 
of  a  library,  to  be  kept  at  the  seat  of  government  for  the  use  of 
the  Governor,  Legislative  Assembly,  Judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  Secretary,  Marshal,  and  Attorney  of  said  Territory,  and 
such  other  persons,  and  under  such  regulations,  as  Shall  be  pre- 
scribed by  law. 

Sec.  16.  That  when  the  lands  in  said  Territory  shall  be  sur- 
veyed under  the  direction  of  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  preparatory  to  bringing  the  same  into  market,  sections 
numbered  sixteen  and  thirty-six,  in  each  township  in  said  Terri- 
tory, shall  be,  and  the  same  are  hereby,  reserved  for  the  purpose 
of  being  applied  to  schools  in  said  Territory,  and  in  the  States 
and  Territories  hereafter  to  bo  erected  out  of  the  same. 

Sec.  17.  That,  until  otherwise  provided  by  law,  the  Governor 
of  said  Territory  may  define  the  judicial  districts  of  said  Terri- 
tory, and  assign  the  judges  who  may  be  appointed  for  said  Ter- 
ritory to  the  several  districts;  and  also  appoint  the  times  and 
places  for  holding  courts  in  the  several  counties  or  subdivisions 
in  each  of  said  judicial  districts  by  proclamation,  to  be  issued 
by  him;    but  the  Legislative  Assembly,  at  their  first  or  any  sub- 


KANSAS  AXD   XEBUASKA  ACT.  '     S3 

sequent  session,  reay  organize,  alter,  or  modify  such  judicial 
districts,  and  assign  the  judges,  and  alter  the  times  and  places 
of  holding  the  courts,  as  to  them  shall  seem  proper  and  conve- 
nicBt. 

Sec.  1^.  That  all  officers  to  be  appointed  by  the  President, 
by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  for  the  Ter- 
ritory of  Nebraska,  Avho,  by  virtue  of  the  provisions  of  any  law 
now  existing,  or  which  may  be  enacted  during  the  present  Con- 
gress, are  required  to  give  security  for  moneys  that  may  be  in- 
trusted wit!i  them  for  disbursements,  shall  give  security,  at  such 
tim«  and  place,  aud  in  such  manner  as  the  Secretary  of  Treasury 
may  prescribe. 

Sec.  19.  That  all  that  part  of  the  territory  of  the  United 
States  incUided  within  the  following  limits,  except  such  portions 
thereof  as  are  hereinafter  expressly  exempted  from  the  opera- 
tions of  this  act,  to-wit:  beginning  at  a  point  on  the  western 
boundary  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  where  the  thirty-seventh 
parallel  of  north  latitude  crosses  the  same;  thence  west  on  said 
parallel  to  the  eastern  boundary  of  New  Mexico;  thence  north 
on  said  boundary  to  latitude  thirty-eight;  thence  following  said 
boundary  westward  to  the  east  boundary  of  the  Territory  of 
Utah,  on  the  summit  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  thence  northward 
on  said  summit  to  the  fortieth  parallel  of  latitude;  thence  east 
on  said  parallel  to  the  western  boundary  of  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri; thence  south  with  the  western  boundary  of  said  State  to 
the  place  of  beginning,  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  created  into 
a  temporary  government  by  the  name  of  the  Territory  of  Kan- 
sas; and  when  admitted  as  a  State  or  States,  the  said  Territory, 
or  any  portion  of  the  same,  shall  be  received  into  the  Union 
with  or  without  slavery,  as  their  Constitution  may  prescribe  at 
the  time  of  their  admission:  Provided,  That  nothing  in  this  Act 
contained  ghall  be  construed  to  inhibit  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  from  dividing  said  Territory  into  two  or  moi-e  Ter- 
ritories, in  such  manner  and  at  such  times  as  Congress  shall 
deem  convenient  and  proper,  or  from  attaching  any  portion  of 
said  Territory  to  any  other  State  or  Territory  of  the  United 
States:  Provided  furiliei\ '\lh.a.t  nothing  in  this  Act  contained 
shall  be  so  construed  as  to  impair  the  rights  of  persons  or  prop- 
erty now  pertaining  to  the  Indians  in  said  Territory,  so  long  as 
such  rights  shall  remain  unextinguished  by  treaty  between  the 
United  States  and  such  Indians,  or  to  include  any  territory 
which,  by  treaty  with  any  Indian  tribe,  is  not,  without  the  con- 
sent of  said  tribe,  to  be  included  within  the  territorial  limits  or 
jurisdiction  of  any  State  or  Territory;  but  all  such  territory 
shall  be  excepted  out  of  the  boundaries,  and  constitute  no  part 
of  the  Territory  of  Kansas,  until  said  tribe  shall  signify  their 
Afisexit  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  be  included  within 


84  '  KANSAS  AND  NEBRASKA  ACT. 

the  said  Territory  of  Kansas,  or  to  affect  the  authority  of  the 
Government  of  the  United  State  to  make  any  regulation  respect- 
ing such  Indians,  their  lands,  property,  or  other  rights,  by  treaty, 
law,  or  otherwise,  which  it  would  have  been  coiupotent  to  the 
government  to  make  if  this  act  had  never  passed. 

[With  the  single  exception  of  the  location  of  the  seat  of  gov- 
ernment for  Kansas  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  provided  for  in  section 
31,  the  ensuing  sixteen  sections,  relative  to  the  organization  and 
government  of  Ihe  Territory,  are  precisely  similar  to  the  sections 
already  recited,  providing  for  the  government  of  Nebraska  Ter- 
ritory. The  final  section  of  the  act,  which  has  a  general  refer- 
ence to  both  Territories,  is  as  follows:] 

Seo.  37.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  all  treaties,  laws, 
and  other  engagements  made  by  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  with  the  Indian  tribes  inhabiting  the  Territories  embraced 
within  this  act,  shall  be  faithfully  and  rigidly  observed,  notwith- 
standing anything  contained  in  this  act;  and  that  the  existing 
agencies  and  superintendencics  of  said  Indians  be  continued, 
with  the  same  powers  and  duties  which  are  now  prescribed  by 
law,  except  that  the  President  of  the  United  States  may  at  his 
discretion  change  the  location  of  the  office  of  superintendent. 


OKDINANCE  OF  1787. 


IN  CONGRESS,  JULY  13,  1787. 

An  Ordinance  for  the  government  of  the  territory  of  the  United  States,  northwest 
of  the  river  Ohio. 

Be  it  ordained,  by  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled, 
that  the  said  Territory,  for  the  purpose  of  temporary  government, 
be  one  district;  subject,  however,  to  be  divided  into  two  districts, 
as  future  circumstances  may,  in  the  opinion  of  Congress,  make 
it  expedient. 

Be  it  ordained,  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  the  estates 
both  of  resident  and  non-resident  proprietors  in  the  said  Terri- 
tory, dying  intestate,  shall  descend  to,  and  be  distributed  among 
their  children,  and  the  descendants  of  a  deceased  child,  in  equal 
parts;  the  descendants  of  a  deceased  child  or  grand-child,  to 
take  the  share  of  their  deceased  parent,  in  equal  parts,  among 
them,  and  where  there  shall  be  no  children  or  descendants,  then 
in  equal  parts  to  the  next  of  kin,  in  equal  degree;  and  among 
collaterals,  the  children  of  a  deceased  brother  or  sister  of  the 
intestate  shall  have,  in  equal  parts,  among  them,  their  deceased 
parents  share;  and  there  shall  in  no  case  be  a  distinction  be- 
tween kindred  of  the  whole  and  half  blood;  saving  in  all  cases 
to  the  widow  of  the  intestate  her  third  part  of  the  real  estate 
for  life,  and  one-third  part  of  the  personal  estate;  and  this  law 
relative  to  descents  and  dower  shall  remain  in  full  force  until 
altered  by  the  Legislature  of  tlie  district.  And  until  the  Gov- 
ernor and  judges  shall  adopt  laws  as  hereinafter  mentioned,  es- 
tates in  the  said  territory  may  be  devised  or  bequeathed  by  wills 
in  writing,  signed  and  sealed  by  him  or  her,  in  whom  the  estate 
may  be  (being  of  full  age,)  and  attested  by  three  witnesses;  and 
real  estates  may  be  conveyed  by  lease  and  release,  or  bargain 
and  sale,  signed,  scaled  and  delivered  by  the  person,  being  of 
full  age,  in  whom  the  estate  may,  and  attested  by  two  witnesses, 
provided  such  wills  be  duly  proved,  and  such  conveyances  be 
acknowledged,  or  the  execution  thereof  duly  proved,  and  be  re- 
corded within  one  year  after  proper  magistrates,  courts,  and 
registers  shall  be  appointed  for  that  purpose,  and  personal  prop- 
erty may   be    transferred   by  delivery,   saving,   however,  to  the 

(85) 


86  ORDINANCE  OF  1787. 

French  and  Canadian  inhabitants,  and  other  settlers  of  the  Kas- 
kaskias,  Saint  Vincents,  and  the  neighborini^  villages,  who  have 
heretofore  professed  themselves  citizens  of  Virginia,  their  laws 
and  customs  now  in  force  among  them,  relative  to  descent  and 
conveyance  of  property. 

Be  it  ordained^  by  the  airthorrty  aforesaid,  that  there  shall  be 
appointed,  from  time  to  time,  by  Congress,  a  Governor,  whose 
commission  shall  continue  in  force  for  the  term  of  three  years, 
unless  sooner  revoked  by  Congress;  he  shall  reside  in  the  dis- 
trict, and  have  a  freehold  estate  therein,  in  one  thousand  acres 
of  land,  while  in  the  exercise  of  his  office.  There  shall  be  ap- 
pointed, from  time  to  time,  by  Congress,  a  Secretary,  whose 
commission  shall  continue  in  force  for  four  years,  unless  sooner 
revoked;  he  shall  reside  therein,  and  have  a  freehold  estate 
therein,  in  five  hundred  acres  of  land,  while  in  the  exercise  of 
his  office;  it  shall  be  his  duty  to  keep  and  preserve  the  acts  and 
laws  passed  by  the  Legislature,  and  the  public  records  of  the 
district,  and  the  proceedings  of  the  Governor  in  his  executive 
department,  and  transmit  authentic  copies  of  such  acts  and  pro- 
ceedings, every  six  months,  to  the  Secretary  of  Congress.  There 
shall  also  be  appointed  a  court,  to  consist  of  three  judges,  any 
two  of  whom  to  form  a  court,  who  shall  have  a  common  law  ju- 
risdiction, and  reside  in  the  district,  and  have  each  therein  a 
freehold  estate  in  five  hundred  acres  of  land,  while  in  the  exer- 
cise of  their  offices;  and  their  commissions  shall  continue  in 
force  during  good  behavior. 

The  Governor  and  judges,  or  a  majority  of  them,  shall  adopt 
and  publish  in  the  district  such  laws  of  the  original  States, 
criminal  and  civil,  as  may  be  necessary,  and  best  suited  to  the 
circumstances  of  the  district,  and  report  them  to  Congress,  from 
time  to  time,  which  laws  shall  be  in  force  in  the  district  until 
the  organization  of  the  General  Assembly  therein,  unless  disap- 
proved by  Congress;  but  afterwards,  the  Legislature  shall  have 
authority  to  alter  them  as  they  shall  think  fit. 

The  Governor,  for  the  time  being,  shall  be  commander-in-chief 
of  the  militia,  appoint  and  commission  all  officers  in  the  same, 
below  the  rank  of  general  officers.  All  general  officers  shall  be 
appointed  and  commissioned  by  Congress. 

Previous  to  the  organization  of  the  General  Assembly,  the 
Governor  shall  appoint  such  magistrates  and  other  civil  officers, 
in  each  county  or  township,  as  he  shall  find  necessary  for  the 
preservation  of  the  peace  and  good  order  in  the  same.  After 
the  General  Assembly  shall  be  organized,  the  powers  and  duties 
of  magistrates  and  other  civil  officers  shall  be  regulated  and  de- 
fined by  the  said  Assembly;  but  all  magistrates  and  other  civil 
officers,  not  herein  otherwise  directed,  sliall,  during  the  contln-. 


ORDINANCE  OF   1787.  87 

uance  of  this  temporary  government,  be  appointed  by  the  Gov- 
ernor. 

For  the  prevention  of  crimes  and  injuries,  the  hiws  to  be 
adopted  or  made,  shall  have  force  in  all  parts  of  the  district,  and 
for  the  execution  of  process,  criminal  and  civil,  the  Governor 
shall  make  proper  divisions  thereof;  and  shall  proceed,  from 
time  to  time,  as  circumstances  may  require,  to  lay  out  the  parts 
of  the  district  in  which  the  Indian  titles  shall  have  been  extin- 
guished, into  counties  and  townships,  subject,  however,  to  such 
alterations  as  may  hereafter  be  made  by  the  Legislature. 

So  soon  as  there  shall  be  five  thousand  free  male  inhabitants, 
of  full  age,  in  the  district,  upon  giving  proof  thereof  to  the 
governor,  they  shall  receive  authority,  with  time  and  place,  to 
elect  representatives  from  their  counties  or  townships,  to  repre- 
sent them  in  the  General  Assembly;  Provided,  That  for  every 
five  hundred  free  male  inhabitants  there  shall  be  one  represen- 
tative, and  so  on  progressively  with  the  number  of  free  male 
inhabitants,  shall  the  right  of  representation  increase,  until  the 
number  of  representatives  shall  amount  to  twenty-five,  after 
which  the  number  and  proportion  of  representatives  shall  be 
regulated  by  the  Legislature;  Provided,  That  no  person  be  eli- 
gible or  qualified  to  act  as  a  representative,  unless  he  shall  have 
been  a  citizen  of  one  of  the  United  States  three  years  and  be  a 
resident  in  the  district,  or  unless  he  shall  have  resided  in  the 
district  three  years,  and  in  either  case  shall  likewise  hold  in  his 
own  right,  in  fee  simple,  two  hundred  acres  of  land  within  the 
same ;  Provided,  also,  that  a  freehold  in  fifty  acres  of  land  in 
the  district,  having  been  a  citizen  of  one  of  the  States,  and  being 
resident  in  the  district,  or  the  like  freehold  and  two  years  resi- 
dence in  the  district,  shall  be  necessary  to  qualify  a  man  as  an 
elector  of  a  representative. 

The  representative  thus  elected,  shall  serve  for  the  term  of 
two  years,  and  in  case  of  the  death  of  a  representative,  or  re- 
moval from  office,  the  Governor  shall  issue  a  writ  to  the  county 
or  township  for  which  he  was  a  member,  to  elect  another  in  his 
stead,  to  serve  for  the  residue  of  the  term. 

The  General  Assembly,  or  Legislature,  shall  consist  of  the 
Governor,  Legislative  Council,  and  a  House  of  l^epresentatives 
The  Legislative  Council  shall  consist  of  five  members,  to  con- 
tinue in  office  five  years,  unless  sooner  removed  by  Congress, 
any  thre-e  of  whom  to  be  a  quorum,  and  the  members  of  the 
Council,  shall  be  nominated  and  appointed  in  the  following 
manner,  to-wit :  as  soon  as  representatives  shall  be  elected,  the 
Governor  shall  appoint  a  time  and  place  for  them  to  meet  to- 
gether, and,  when  met,  they  shall  nominate  ten  persons,  residents 
in  the  district,  and  each  possessed  of  a  freehold  in  five  hundred 
acres  of  land,  and  return  their  names  to  Congress,  five  of  whom 


88  ORDIKANCB   ov   1787. 

Con^TCss  shall  appoint  and  commission  tc  serve  as  afoic-iiud ; 
and  whcnovcr  a  vacancy  shall  happen  in  the  Council,  hy  death 
or  removal  from  oflice,  the  House  of  Keprcsentatives  shall  nom- 
inate two  persons  qualified  as  aforesaid,  for  each  vacancy,  and 
return  their  names  to  Conirress,  one  of  whom  Congress  shalJ 
afipoint  and  commission  for  the  residue  of  the  term;  and  every 
(ixe  years,  four  months  at  least  before  the  expiration  of  the  time 
of  service  of  the  Council,  the  said  House  sliall  nominate  ten 
persons  qualified  as  aforesaid,  and  return  their  names  to  Congress, 
five  of  whom  Congress  shall  appoint  and  commission  to  serve 
as  members  of  the  Council  five  years,  unless  sooner  removed. 
.Vnd  the  Governor,  Legislative  Council  and  House  of  Kepresen- 
tatives,  shall  have  authority  to  make  laws  in  all  c:iHes  lor  the 
good  government  of  the  district,  not  repugnant  to  the  principles 
and  articles  in  this  ordinance  established  and  declared.  And 
all  bills  having  passed  by  a  majority  in  the  House,  and  by  a 
majority  in  the  Council,  shall  be  referred  to  the  Governor  for 
his  assent;  })ut  no  bill  or  legislative  act  whatever,  shall  be  of 
any  force  without  his  assent.  The  Governor  shall  have  power 
to  convene,  prorogue  and  dissolve  the  assembly,  ^Vhcn  in  his 
opinion  it  shall  be  expedient. 

The  Governor,  Judges,  Legislative  Council,  Secretary,  and 
Huch  other  ofiicers  as  Congress  shall  appoint  in  the  district,  shall 
take  an  oath  or  affirmation  of  fidelity,  and  of  oflice — the  Gover- 
nor before  the  President  of  Congress,  and  all  other  officers  be- 
fore the  Governor.  As  soon  as  a  Legislature  shall  be  formed  in 
the  District,  the  Council  and  House,  assembled  in  one  room, 
shall  have  authority  by  joint  ballot  to  elect  a  delegate  to  Con- 
gress, who  shall  have  a  seat  in  Congress,  with  the  right  of  de- 
bating, but  not  of  voting,  during  this  temporary  government. 

And  for  extending  the  fundamental  principles  of  civil  and  re- 
ligious liberty,  which  form  the  basis  whereon  these  repul)lic8, 
their  laws  and  constitutions,  are  erected;  to  Jix  and  establish 
those  principles  as  the  basis  of  all  laics,  conslitutions  and  gov- 
ernments, u'hich  KOKEVKR  hereafter  shall  ba  formed  in  the  said 
territory;  to  provide  also  for  the  establishment  of  States,  and 
for  their  admission  to  a  share  in  the  federal  council  on  an  equal 
footing  with  the  original  States,  at  as  early  periods  as  may  be 
consistent  witli  the  general  interest: 

It  is  hereby  ordained  and  declared,  by  the  authority  aforesaid, 
that  the  following  articles  shall  be  considered  as  articles  of 
compact  between  the  original  States,  and  the  people  and  States 
in  the  said  Territory,  and  forever  remain  unalterable,  unless  by 
common  consent,  vis: 

AuTicLi'  I.  No  person,  demeaning  himself  in  a  peaceable 
and  orderly  manner,  shall  ever  be  molested  on  account  of  his 
mode  of  Avorship  or  religious  sentiments  in  the  said  territory. 


OlUJlNAXCK   01^    1787.  89 

Art.  J  I.  The  inliabitunts  of  the  s;iid  territory  shall  alwaya 
be  entitled  to  the  benefit  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  and  of 
the  trial  by  jury;  of  a  proportionate  representation  of  the  peo- 
ple in  the  Le,i:iil:iture,  and  of  judicial  proceediniis  according  to 
the  course  of  the  common  law;  all  persons  shall  be  bailable 
unless  for  capital  offences,  where  the  proof  shall  be  evident,  or 
the  presumption  great;  all  fines  shall  be  moderate,  and  no  cruel 
or  unusual  punishments  shall  be  inflicted;  no  man  shall  be  de- 
prived of  his  liberty  or  property,  but  by  the  judgment  of  his 
peers,  or  the  law  of  the  land ;  and  should  the  public  exigencies 
make  it  necessary  fur  the  common  preservation  to_  take  any  per- 
son's property,  or  to  demand  his  particular  services,  full  com- 
pensation shall  be  made  for  the  same;  and  in  the  just  preser- 
vation of  rights  and  property,  it  is  understood  and  declared,  that 
no  law  ought  ever  to  be  made,  or  have  force  in  the  said  territo- 
ry, that  shall  in  any  manner  whatever,  interfere  with,  or  affect 
private  contracts  or  engagements,  bona  fide,  and  without  fraud 
previously  formed. 

Art.  111.  Religion,  morality,  and  knowledge,  being  neces- 
sary to  good  government  and  the  happiness  of  mankind,  schools 
and  the  means  of  education  shall  forever  be  encouraged.  The 
utmost  good  faith  shall  always  be  observed  toward  the  Indians; 
their  lands  and  property  shall  never  be  taken  from  them  with- 
out their  consent;  and  in  their  property,  rights,  and  liberty, 
they  never  shall  be  invaded  or  disturbed,  unless  in  justand  law- 
ful wars  authorized  by  Congress;  but  laws  founded  in  justice 
and  humanity,  shall,  from  time  to  time,  be  made,  for  preventing 
wrongs  being  d(jne  to  them,  and  for  preserving  peace  and  friend- 
ship with  them. 

Art.  IV.  The  said  Territory,  and  tlic  States  which  may  be 
formed  therein,  shall  forever  remain  a  part  of  this  Confederacy 
of  the  United  States  of  America,  subject  to  the  articles  of  con- 
federation,''" and  to  such  alterations  therein,  as  shall  be  constitu- 
tionally made;  and  to  all  the  acts  and  ordinances  of  the  United 
States  in  Congress  assembled,  conformable  thereto.  The  inhabi- 
tants and  settlers  in  the  said  Territory,  shall  be  subject  to  pay 
a  part  of  the  federal  debts  contracted,  or  to  be  contracted,  and 
a  proportional  part  of  the  expenses  of  government,  to  be  appor- 
tioned on  them,  by  Congress,  according  to  the  same  common 
rule  and  measure  by  which  apportionments  thereof  shall  be 
made  on  the  other  States;  and  the  taxes  for  paying  their  pro- 
poriion.  shall  be  laid  and  levied  by  the  authority  and  direction 
of  the  Legislatures  of  the  district,  or  districts,  or  new  States,  as 
in  the  original  Stat's,  within  the  time  agreed  upon  by  the  United 
States   in"  Congress   assembled.     The  Legislatures  of  those  dia- 


<'T)u8  ordinance  was  drawn  up  before  the  Constitution  was  formed. 


90  ORDINAXCE  OF    1787. 

tricts,  or  new  States,  shall  never  interfere  with  the  primary  dis- 
posal of  the  soil  hy  the  United  States  in  (Jonj^ress  assembled, 
nor  with  any  regulations  (/Dugress  may  find  necessary  for  secur- 
inif  the  title  in  such  soil  to  the  bona  fide  purchasers.  No  tax 
shall  b-e  imposed  on  lands  the  property  of  the  United  States; 
and  in  no  case  shall  non-resident  proprietors  be  taxed  higher 
than  residents.  The  navigable  waters  leading  into  the  Missis- 
sippi and  St.  Lawrence,  and  the  carrying  places  between  the 
same  shall  be  common  highways,  and  forever  free,  as  well  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  said  territory,  as  to  the  citizens  of  theUnited 
States,  and  those  of  any  other  States  that  uuiy  be  admitted  into 
the  confederacy,  without  any  tax,  impost  or  duty  therefor. 

Art.  V.  There  shall  be  formed  in  the  said  Territory,  not  less 
than  three,  nor  more  than  five  States;  and  the  boundaries  of 
the  States,  as  soon  as  Virginia  shall  alter  her  act  of  session  and 
consent  to  the  same,  shall  become  fixed  and  established  as  fol- 
lows, to-wit:  The  western  State  shall  be  bounded  by  the  Mis- 
sissippi, the  Ohio,  and  Wabash  rivers  ;  a  direct  line  drawn,  from 
the  Wabash  and  Post  Vincents  due  north  to  the  territorial  line 
between  the  United  States  and  Canada,  and  by  the  said  terri- 
torial line  to  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  and  Mississippi.  The  mid- 
dle State  shall  be  bounded  by  the  said  direct  line,  the  Wabash 
from  Post  Vincents  to  the  Ohio,  by  the  Ohio,  by  a  direct  line 
drawn  due  north  from  the  mouth  of  the  Great  j\liami  to  the  said 
territorial  line,  and  by  said  territorial  line.  The  eastern  State 
shall  be  bounded  by  the  last  mentioned  direct  line,  the  Ohio, 
Pennsylvania,  and  the  said  territorial  line;  Provided,  however, 
and  it  is  further  understood  and  declared,  that  the  boundaries 
of  these  three  States  shall  be  subject  so  far  to  be  altered,  and 
if  Congress  shall  hereafter  find  it  expedient,  they  shall  have 
authority  to  form  one  or  two  States  in  that  part  of  the  said  ter- 
ritory which  lies  north  of  an  east  and  west  line  drawn  through 
the  southerly  bend  or  extreme  of  Lake  Michigan;  and  whenever 
any  of  the  said  States  sliall  have  sixty  thousand  free  inhabitants 
therein,  such  States  shall  be  admitted  by  its  delegates,  into  the 
Congress-  of  the  United  States,  on  an  equal  footing  with  the 
original  States,  in  all  respects  whatsoever;  and  shall  be  at  lib- 
erty to  form  a  permanent  constitution  and  State  government; 
Provided,  the  constitution  and  government  so  to  be  formed, 
shall  be  republican,  and  in  conformity  to  the  principles  con- 
tained in  these  articles;  and  so  far  as  it  can  be  consistent  with 
the  general  interest  of  the  confederacy,  such  admission  shall  be 
allowed  at  an  earlier  period,  and  when  there  may  be  a  less 
number  of  free  inhabitants  in  the  State  than  sixty  thousand. 

Akt.  VJ.  There  shall  be  neither  slavery  nor  involuntary 
servitude  in  the  said  territory,  otherwise  than  in  the  punishment 
of  crimes  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  d«iily  convicted; 


ORDINANCE    OF    ITST.  91 

Provided,  always,  that  any  person  escaping  into  the  same,  from 
whom  hibor  or  service  is  lawfully  claimed  in  any  of  the  original 
States,  such  fugitive  may  be  lawfully  reclaimed  and  conveyed 
to  the  person  claiming  his-  or  her  labor  or  service  as  aforesaid. 

Be  it  07-dmned,  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  the  resolutions 
of  the  23d  of  April,  1784,  relative  to  the  subject  of  this  ordi- 
nance, be,  and  the  same  are  hereby  repealed  and  declared  null 
and  void. 

Note. — By  this  ordinance,  Virginia  ceded  to  the  United  States  the  territory  now 
composing  thoStates  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinoia,  Wisconsin  and  Michigan,  makii:;; 
the  ordinance  the  fundamental  law  of  these  States. 


ELECTORAL  VOTES 


roil 


PRESIDENT  AND  VICE-PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Election  for  the  First  Term,  commencing  March  4,  1789,  and 
terminating  March  3,  1793. 


s 

o 

ti. 

o  s 

o  <^ 

o 

STATES. 

a 
o 

s 

i  s 
?'' 

a  s 

s  s 

a 
o 

ti   . 

&>  c 

V3   O 

il 
"o 

■-5 

o 

o 

a 

o 

00 
u.      . 

1.*  -^ 

ess 

O 

a 

o 

a    . 

o  ^ 
0J>5 

o 

■a  — 

3    « 
«^ 

3  o 

-5r» 

o 

a 
2 

u 

o  ^ 
•SO 

s 

§ 

m  O 
■-s  o 

"3 

1 

•52 

HC2 

a  . 

.el 

—  es 

il 
sa  o 

5 

New  Hampshire 

Massachusetts 

5 

10 

7 

C 

10 

3 

6 

10 

7 

5 

Ti 

.... 

10 

10 

7 

5 
1 
8 

6 

New  Jersey'  .•••.•••• 

5 

";V 

10 

Pennsylvania 

Delaw.ire    

2 

3 

6 

JIaryland 

Vii-ftlnia 

Soutli  Carolina 

.... 

10 

5 

.... 

1 

1 

1 

3 

.... 

7 

G 

5 

2 

1 
1 

1 

1 

Whole  No.  Electors.. 
Majority 35 

0 

CU 

G9 

34 

2 

9 

4 

6 

3 

2 

1 

1 

The  first  Congress  under  the  Constitution  was  convened  at  the 
"Federal  llall,"  situated  at  the  head  of  Ilroad,  frontin<:r  on  Wall 
street,  (where  tlie  Custom  House  now  stands,)  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  on  the  first  Wednesday,  heing  March  4,  1789 — Senators  and 
Kepresentatives  having  been  elected  from  the  eleven  States  which 
had  ratified  the  Constitution;  liut,  owing  to  the  absence  of  a  quo- 
rum, the  House  was  not  organized  till  the  1st  of  April,  and,  for 
a  like  reason,  the  Senate  was  not  organized  till  the  6th  ;  when  the 
latter  body  "proceeded  by  ballot  to  the  choice  of  a  President,  for 
the  sole  purpose  of  opening  and  counting  the  [electoral]  votes 
for  I'resident  of  the  United  States."  John  Langtlon,  of  New 
Hampsliire,  was  chosen  President  2'>^o  tern,  of  the  Senate,  and 
Samuel  Alyne  Otis,  of  Jlassachusctts,  Secretary;  after  which, 
proper  measures  were  taken  to  notify  the  successful  individuals 
of  tlieir  election. 

(ieorge  Washington  took  the  oath  of  office,  as  President,  and 
entered  upon  his  duties  April  30,  1789.  (For  his  Inaugaral  Ad- 
dress, see  p.  28. 

Jdlin  Adams,  Vice-President,  entered  upon  his  duties  in  the 
Senate  April  21,  1789,  and  took  the  oath  of  office  June  3,  1789. 

(92) 


ELECTORAL  VOTES. 


93 


Election  for  the  Second  Term,  covunencim/  3Iarch  4,  1793,  and 
terminating  March  3,  1797. 


0  02 

i.a 
o  o 


6 
16 

9 

3 

12 

7 

15 

3 

8 

21 

4 

12 

8 

4 

132 


STATES. 


O  o 


Kew  Hampshire 

Massachusetts 

Rhode  IslaiKl 

Connecticut 

Vermont ■ 

New  York 

New  Jersey 

Pennsylvania 

Delaware 

Maryland 

Virginia 

Kentucky ■ 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Georgia 

Whole  No.  of  Electors 

Ma.ioritv 67 


•a  .a 

<'i 


132     77     50 


a 
o 

a   . 
—  .a 


S  ® 
o:^; 


B  o 


5.M 

°  i 

<>5 


George  Washington,  re-elected  President,  took  the  oath  of  of- 
fice for  a  second  term,  and  entered  upon  his  duties  March  4,  1793. 

John  Adams,  re-elected  Vice  President,  took  the  oath  of  office, 
and  entered  upon  his  duties  in  the  Senate  December  2,  1793. 

After  the  expiration  of  his  second  Presidential  term,  Washington 
retired  to  the  tranquil  shades  of  Mount  Vernon,  fondly  indulging 
the  hope  that  the  remainder  of  his  days  would  be  peacefully  en- 
joyed in  his  much  cherished  home;  but  these  pleasing  anticipa- 
tions were  not  allowed  to  remain  long  undisturbed.  In  1798  the 
conduct  of  the  French  Directory  and  its  emissaries  led  to  frequent 
difficulties  with  this  country,  which  were  calculated  to  provoke  a 
war ;  and  the  opinion  was  universally  entertained  that  he  who  had 
formerly  so  well  acquitted  himselfj  must  be  again  called  to  the 
command  of  our  armies.  Accordingly,  early  in  July,  the  rank 
and  title  of  Lieutenant-General  and  Commander-in-Chief  of  all 
tli^  armies  raised,  or  to  be  raised,  in  the  United  States,"  was  con- 
ferred upon  him;  and  the  Secretary  of  War,  Mr.  McIIenry,  im- 
mediately waited  upon  him  to  tender  the  commission.     In  a  letter 

to  President  Adams,  accepting  this  "  new  proof  of  public  confidence,"  he  makes  a 
reservation  that  he  shall  not  be  called  into  the  field  until  the  army  is  in  a  situation 
to  require  his  presence,  and  adds :  "  I  take  the  liberty  also  to  mention,  that  I  must 
decline  having  my  acceptance  considered  as  drawing  after  it  any  inimedia;e 
charge  upon  the  public,  and  that  I  cannot  rc<-eive  any  euiolunK'nts  annexed  to  the 
appointment,  before  entering  into  a  s-ituation  to  incur  expeivte." 


94 


Ei-KCTORAI.   Vi; 


Election  for  the  Third  Term,  comynencing  March  4,  1707,  and 
terminating  March  3,  1801. 


=1 

o  _ 

.  c 

o  o 

STATES. 

—  ^ 

o 

(.1 

o 
a  (3 

O  c 

a  ^ 

^  e: 

o 

u     . 

n  o 
<;?5 

^.1 
c 

IS 

o 

s 

—  c 

Cm 

o 

-5 

o 

a 

o 

o  ^ 
OX 

o  n 

S  - 

a 

3 

O 

S  .5 

c  s 

o 
o  a 

4l 

6 
IG 
i 
9 
4 
1-2 
7 

15 
3 

New  Hampshire 
Miissachusetts.. 
Ehoclc  Island.. 
Connecticut ... 

Vermout 

Kew  York 

New  Jersey.... 
rennsylvania. . 

Delaware 

Maryland 

Virginia  

6 
IG 

9 
4 
12 
7 
1 
3 
7 
1 

G 
1 

4 

13 

.... 

.... 

.... 

2 

'i4" 
"4" 

20 
4 

11 
8 
4 
3 

4 
4 
12 
7 
2 
3 
4 
1 

"i" 

8 

5 

■  ■*' 

.... 

.... 

13 

11 

21 

12 

3 

1 
4 
G 

!!!!.... 

.... 

1    |.... 

North  Carolina. 
South  Carolina. 

1 

3 

1     .... 

,    ..        1 

8 

4 

....|.... 

3 

3 

!!!!i"" 

No.  of  Electors. 
Majority.. ,..70 

■ 

2 

130 

71 

I 

G8 

59 

30 

15 

11 

5 

7 

2 

3 

1    1 

1 

2 

Jolin  Adam?,  elected  President,  took  the  oath  of  office,  and 
entered  upon  his  duties,  March  4,  1797. 

Thomas  Jefferson,  elected  Vice  President,  took  the  otith  of 
office,  and  entered  upon  his  duties  in  the  Senate,  ^larch  4,  1797. 

The  administration  of  Mr.  Adams  encountered  tlie  most  vir- 
ulent opposition,  both  domestic  and  foreign.  France,  still  in 
the  confusion  following  her  revolution,  made  improper  demands 
on  our  country,  which  not  being  complied  with,  she  commenced 
seizing  American  property  on  the  high  seas.  Our  people,  taking 
different  sides,  Avere  about  equally  divided — some  approving  and 
others  deprecating  the  course  pursued  by  France.  Letters  of 
marque  and  reprisal  were  issued  by  our  government,  and  a  navy 
was  raised  with  surprising  promptitude.  This  had  the  desired 
effect,  peace  being  thereby  secured;  and  the  aggressor  was 
taught  that  the  Americans  were  friends  in  peace,  but  were  not 
fearful  of  war  when  it  could  not  be  honorably  averted. 

The  Indians  on  our  western  frontiers  also  caused  much  trou- 
ble; but  at  length,  being  severely  chastised  by  General  Wayne, 
they  sued  for  peace,  which  was  granted  in  1795. 

In  1800  the  seat  of  government  was  removed  from  Philadel- 
phia to  Washington  City,  which  had  been  designated  by  Wash- 
ington, under  a  law  of  Congress,  as  the  most  centnil  situation. 


ELKCTOKAL    VOTES. 


95 


Election  for  the  Fourth  Term,  commcncincf  March  4,  1801,  and 
terminating  March  3,  1805. 


Sd 

.a 

o  o 

G 

IG 

4 

9 

4 

12 

7 

15 

3 

10 

21 

4 

12 

3 

8 

4 

138 


New  Ilampshire. 
Massachusetts... 
Rhode  Island..., 

Connecticut 

Vermont 

New  York 

New  Jersey 

Pennsylvania. ... 

Dela'.vo.ro 

Maryland. 

Virginia 

Kentucky 

North  Carolina. 

Tennessee 

South  Carolina.. 
Georgia 


No.  of  Electors. 
Majority 


STATES. 


a 
o 
to 
u 

sS  ■   H 

'^  H    n 
2 '3) 

c.tl    a 


o . 
El  o 


12 


5 
21 
4 
8 
3 
8 
4 


12 


5 

21 

4 


73      73 


a  o 

■=  2 

^  o 

C  00 


6 
16 
4 
9 
4 


C5 


.So 
On 


G 
IG 
3 
9 
4 


64 


!zi 


1^ 


The  electoral  vote  for  Thos.  Jefferson  and  Aaron  Burr  being 
equal,  no  choice  wos  made  h\  the  people,  and  on  the  11th  of 
February,  1601,  the  House  of  Representatives  proceeded  to  the 
choice  of  President  in  the  manner  prescribed  by  the  Constitu- 
tion. On  the  first  ballot  eight  States  voted  for  Thos.  Jefferson, 
six  for  Aaron  Burr,  and  the  votes  of  two  States  were  divided. 
The  ballotinir  continued  till  the  17th  of  February,  when  the 
thirty-fifth  ballot,  as  had  all  previously,  resulted  the  same  as 
the  first.  xVfter  the  thirty-sixth  ballot,  the  Speaker  declared 
that  the  votes  of  ten  States  had  been  given  for  Thos.  Jefierson, 
the  votes  of  four  States  for  Aaron  Burr,  and  the  votes  of  two 
States  in  blank;  and  that,  consequently,  Thomas  Jefferson  had 
been  elected  for  the  term  of  four  years. 

Thomas  Jefferson,  thus  elected  President,  took  the  oath  of 
oflSce,  and  entered  upon  his  duties,  March  4,  1801. 

In  his  inaugural  address,  Mr.  Jefferson  used  the  following  memorable  -exprcs- 
Bion:  "  Wo  have  called  by  different  names  brethren  of  the  same  principle.  We 
are  all  republicans  :  we  are  all  ft  deraliats.  If  there  be  any  among  ns  who  would 
wish  to  dissolve  this  Union,  or  to  change  its  republican  form,  let  them  stand, 
undisturbed,  as  monuments  of  the  safety  with   which   eeror  of  opinion   may  bb 

TOLEEAT3D,  WHERE    RE.^SON  T3  LEFT  FREE  TO  COMBAT  IT.'" 

Aaron  Bui)',  elected  Vice-President,  took  tie  oath  of  office,  and  entered  upon 
his  dutiej  ij  tho  Seuate,  ilarch  4,  ISiJl. 


9G 


ELECTORAL     VOTES. 


Election  for  the  Fifth  Term,  connnencivg  March  4,  ISO;'), 
terminating  March  3,  1609. 


and 


£2 

2  C! 


o  " 
d 


7 
19 

4 

9 

C 
19 

8 
20 

3 
11 
•24 
U 
10 

6 

6 

8 

3 

170 


STATES. 


i'rzsid't.Iv.  pres't. 


J3  c 


^.6 


New  Ilampshirc. 
Massachusetts. . . 
Ilhode  Island. .. 

Connecticut 

Vermont 

New  York 

New  Jersey.  .... 
Pennsylvania. . .. 

Delaware 

Maryland 

Virginia 

North  Carolina.. 
South  Oarolina. . 

Georgia 

Tennessee 

Kentucky 

Ohio 


Whole  No.   of  Electors 162    14 

Majority 89 


5 'Si"?  ° 
Eh?*    Oo 


7 

19 

4 


ti 
1!) 

8 
2U 


0 

24 

14 

10 

0 

5 

8 

3 


-7 

10 

4 

"e' 

19 

8 

20 

'  9 

24 

14 

10 

G 

5 

8 

3 


162 


p  o 


14 


Thomas  Jefferson,  elected  President,  took  the  oath  of  office  for 
a  second  term,  and  entered  upon  his  duties  IVIarch  4,  ISOo. 

George  Clinton,  elected  Vice-President,  took  the  oath  of  office, 
and  entered  upon  his  duties  in  the  Senate.  March  4,  1805. 

Among  the  most  important  acts  of  ^Ir.  Jefferson's  administra- 
tion was  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  from  France  for  $1.'), 000,- 
000,  which  territory  was  surrendered  to  our  Government  in  De- 
cember, 1803. 

In  November,  1808,  the  celebrated  "Orders  in  Council"  were 
issued  by  the  Pritish  Government,  which  prohibited  all  trade 
with  France  and  her  allies;  and,  as  a  retaliatory  measure,  in 
December  following  Bonaparte  issued  his  "Milan  Dkckke," 
interdicting  all  trade  with  England  and  her  colonies — thus  sub- 
jecting almost  every  American  vessel  on  the  ocean  to  capture. 
In  requital  for  these  tyrannous  proceedings,  and  tl)at  England 
and  France  might  both  feel  their  injustice,  Congress  decreed  an 
embargo;  but  as  this  failed  to  obtain  from  either  power  an  ac- 
knowledgment of  our  rights,  and  was  also  ruinous  to  our  com- 
merce with  other  nations,  it  was  repealed  in  ^larch,  1809. 


BLEOTORAL     VOTES. 


97 


Election  for  the  Sixth   Term,    commencing  March  4,  1809,  and 
terminating  March  3,  1813. 


a 

o 

n 

O  £ 

6 

STATES. 

PB 

O 

a 
o 

xa 

■3 
a!     . 

m  a 

ESIDENT. 

VICE-mXffrDEHT 

• 

O 

C3 
o 

■*-* 

a.  . 

o  ? 

0>5 

o 

'-'J3 

Cm 

a 
0 

a    . 
".::  .^ 

go 

0 
0 

1     . 
■0  a 

0 

0 
m  a 

4? 

a  a 

OJ    (5 

a  t 

0 

tS 

SI 

»>< 

•is 

7 

New  Hampshire. •• 

7 

19 

4 

9 

.... 

.... 

.... 

.... 

7 

19 
4 
9 

T» 

' 

4 

Rhode  Island 

.... 

.... 

.... 

.... 

<1 

Connecticut 

.... 

U 

0 

13 

8 

20 

6 

n 

New  York 

6 

•  •  •  • 

3 
2 

"3' 

13 

8 
20 

3 

3 

.... 

8 

New  Jersey 

.... 

"0 

Pennsylvania 

3 

Delaware 

3 

11 

Maryland 

9 

24 

11 

10 

6 

7 

5 

3 

.... 

9 

24 

11 

10 

6 

7 

5 

.... 

.... 

•  •  •  ■ 

24 

Virginia 

14 

North   Carolina 

.... 

.... 

.... 

3 

10 

So;ith  Carolina 

6 

iii^oi'pia 

T 

Kviitucky 

.... 

5 

rfiuiessee 

Ohio 

3 

3 

Whole  JCo.  of  Electors 

47 

.... 

175 

122 

6 

113 

3 

3 

9 

47 

Majority 88 

James  Madison  took  the  oath  of  office,  as  President,  and  en- 
tered upon  his  duties  March  4,  1809. 

George  Clinton,  elected  Vice  President,  took  the  oath  of  office, 
and  attended  in  the  Senate,  March  4,  1809. 

Our  national  position,  especially  in  regard  to  England  and 
France,  was  certainly  a  very  perplexing  one  when  Mr.  Madison 
came  to  the  Presidency.  We  were  not  only  threatened  by  ene- 
mies abroad,  but  were  harassed  by  a  savage  foe  on  our  western 
frontier,  probably  urged  on  by  British  influence,  and  led  by  the 
famous  chief  Tecumseh  and  his  brother  the  Prophet.  These 
last  were  finally  subdued  in  1811;  but  our  European  foes  were 
more  troublesome.  After  all  peaceful  means  had  failed  to  check 
the  aggressions  of  England,  and  when  at  length  "patience  had 
ceased  to  be  a  virtue,"  war  was  declared  against  that  country, 
June  19,  1812.  The  events  of  that  war  it  is  not  within  our 
province  to  record;  and  it  is  sufficient  to  say,  that  they  greatly 
elevated  the  American  character  in  the  estimation  of  both 
friends  and  enemies. 
X 


98 


ELEOTOUAL     VOTES. 


Election  for  the  Seventh  Term,  commencing  March  4,  1813,  and 
terminating  March  3,  1817. 


003 

s-s 

O  o 

d 

22 

4 

9 

8 

29 

18 

25 

14 

11 

25 

15 

11 

8 

12 

8 

7 

.3 

217 


STATES. 


New  Hampshire. 
Massachusetts... 
Rhode  Island. ... 

Connecticut 

Vermont 

New  York 

New  Jersey 

Pennsylvania. . .. 

Delaware 

Maryland 

A'irginia 

North  Cartdina. 
South  Carolina. . 


Kentucky. 
Tennessee. 

Ohio 

Louisiana. 


5  M 


Whole  No.  of  Electors 

Majority 109 


6 

25 
15 

n 

8 
12 
8 
7 
3 


128 


"    o 


!ID'T. 

V.  PBl 

"-.-. 

a 

3 

a 

■^  05 

c.a 

r^  i; 

5^ 

r^    03 

-    c3 

^;^ 

Q  o 

1 

8 

22 

2 

4 

• .  • . 

9 

• . .  • 

•  •  •  ■ 

8 

29 

•  ••  • 

8 

■  >•  • 

•  ■  ■  ■ 

25 

4 

5 

G 

>  .  •  * 

25 

•  ••  • 

15 

•  •  •  • 

11 

•  ■•  ■ 

8 

•  ■  •  ■ 

12 

8 

•  •  •  • 

7 

.... 

3 

89 

131 

^  a 

IS. 

7 

20 

4 

9 


29 
8 


86 


Jiimes  Madison,  elected  President  for  a  second  term.  [There 
is  no  notice  on  the  Journals  of  Congress  of  his  having  taken 
the  oath.] 

Elbridge  Gerry,  elected  Vice-President,  attended  in  the  Senate 
on  the  24th  of  VLny,  1813,  and  exhibited  a  certificate  of  his  hav- 
ing taken  the  oath  of  office  prescribed  by  law,  which  was  read. 

The  war  into  which  the  country  had  been  forced  was  brought 
to  a  close  by  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  which  was  signed  December 
24,  1814;  but  this  treaty  had  scarcely  been  ratified,  when  it  be- 
came necessary  to  commence  another  war  for  the  protection  of 
American  commerce  and  seamen  against  Algerine  piracies.  In 
May,  1815,  a  squadron  under  Commodore  Decatur  sailed  for  the 
Mediterranean,  where  the  naval  force  of  Algiers  was  cruising 
for  American  vessels.  After  capturing  two  of  the  enemy's  best 
frigates  in  that  sea,  Decatur  proceeded  to  the  Bay  of  Algiers, 
and  there  dictated  a  treaty  which  secured  the  United  States 
from  any  further  molestation  from  that  quarter.  Similar  treaties 
were  also  concluded  with  t!ie  other  Barbary  powers. 


ELECTORAL    VOTES. 


99 


Election  for  the  Eighth  Term,  commencing  March  4,  1817,  and 
terminating  March  3,  1821. 


o 

a 

«  a> 
i-  *^ 
o  ci 

o(/i 

c! 

O 

d 

5_ 

8 

22 

"4 

9 

8 

20 


15 
11 
8 
12 
8 
« 
3 
3 

217 


STATES. 


New  Hampshire. 
Massachusetts... 
Rhode  Island... 

Connecticut 

Vermont 

Xcw  York 

New  Jersey 

Pennsylvania. .. 

Delaware 

Maryland 

Virginia 

North  Carolina. 
South  Carolina. . 

Georgia 

Kentucky 

Tennessee 

Ohio 

Louisiana 

Indiana 


Whole  No.  of  Electors. 
Majority 


o 

a 
o 

a 

o 


peesid't. 


bo 

la    s  a 


8 
29 

8 
25 


.109 


8 

25 

16 

11 

8 

12 

8 

8 

3 

3 


183 


22 


34 


VICE-PKESIDENT. 


a 

H  ^ 


8 
29 

8 
25 


25 

15 

11 

8 

12 

8 

8 

3 

3 


183 


St 
o  c 

P4b 


1-5   O 


22 


.5 

00  m 

2  a 
1-5  »< 


S'a 


22 


M' 


James  Monroe  took  the  oath  of  office,  as  President,  and  en- 
tered upon  liis  duties  March  4,  1817. 

Daniel  D.  Tompkins,  elected  Vice-President,  took  the  oath  of 
office,  and  attended  in  the  Senate,  March  4,  1817. 

The  Seminole  and  a  few  of  the  Creek  Indians  commenced 
depredations  on  the  frontiers  of  Georgia  and  Alabama  towards 
the  close  of  1817,  for  which  they  were  severely  chastised  by  a 
force  under  General  Jackson,  and  gladly  sued  for  peace. 

In  February,  1819,  a  treaty  was  nagotiated  at  "Washington, 
by  which  Spain  ceded  to  the  United  States  East  and  West  Florida 
and  the  adjacent  IsLands.  In  the  same  year  the  southern  por- 
tion of  Missouri  Territory  was  set  off  under  the  name  of  Ar- 
kansas, for  which  a  territorial  government  was  formed ;  and 
Alabama  was  constituted  a  State,  and  admitted  into  the  Union, 

Early  in  1820  the  province  of  Maine,  which  had  been  con- 
nected with  Massachusetts  since  1652,  was  separated  from  it, 
and  was  admitted  into  the  Union  as  an  independent  State. 


i'OO 


ELECTORAE    VOTBSi 


Election  for  the  Ninth  Term,  commencing  March  4,  1S21,  an4 
terminating  March  3,  1825. 


a 

2 

o 

twCG 

STATES. 

presi&'t. 

VICE  PHESIDENT. 

o 

oT 
o 
u 

a 

o    . 

^> 

7 

15 

4 

9 

8 

29 

8 

24 

4 

11 

25 

15 

11 

8 

12 

7 

8 

3 

3 

2 

3 

3 

9 

3 

231 

DO 

is 

^  to 
3   at 

^<^ 

►^  o 
1 

m 

a 

13 

o. 

'^A 
^% 

.2  S 

7 
7 
4 
9 
8 
29 

2^ 

a 
o 

11 

P5  o 

"s 

C 

W  o 
.... 

O 

1.2 

> 

3S 

1 

Am 
O 

VI 

a 
■a 

-2" 
_■  "3 
»  c: 

C.2 

8 
15 

4 
9 
8 

29 
9 

25 
4 

MiLfisa.chu8Ctt3*  ••••••........ 

"Vermont 

New  York.  •••••••••• 

4 

11 

IHaryland 

10 

25 

15 

U 

8 

12 

7 

a 

1 

25 

15 

11 

8 

12 

Kentucky, 

8 

.... 

8 

Ohio 

3 

TjOuisifiiia. ....... ...................... 

1     3 

3 

1 

3 

2 
3 
3 
9 
3 

218 

3 

.... 

.... 
.... 

3 

3 

Alabn.mfi. 

9 

Maine  • ..■•••..••■• 

T 

No.  of  Electors 

8 

1 

•X^ft 

1 

4 

Majority 118 

James  Jronroe  was  re-elected  President,  but  there  is  no  notice 
on  the  Journals  of  Congress  that  he  again  took  the  oath  of  office. 

Daniel  D.  Tompkins  was  re-elected  Vice  President,  but  there 
is  no  record  of  his  having  taken  the  oath  of  office. 

Public  attention  was  much  occupied  in  1824-5  by  a  visit  from 
the  venerable  General  Lafayette,  who,  after  the  lapse  of  nearly 
half  a  century  from  the  period  of  his  military  career,  was  again 
welcomed  with  every  token  of  respect  that  could  be  devised  for 
honoring  the  "Nation's  Guest."  lie  landed  in  New  York  in 
August,  1824,  and  after  remaining  there  a  short  time,  set  out  on 
a  tour  through  all  the  States.  Upwards  of  a  year  was  taken  uj> 
in  accomplishing  this  gratifying  object;  and  in  September,  1825,. 
he  sailed  from  Washington  in  the  frigate  Brand v wine  for  h» 
native  home. 


EI^ECTORAL    VOTES. 


lec 


Election  for  th-e  Tenth    Teiyn,  connmencing  March  4,  1825,  and 
terminating  March  3,  1829. 


& 

STATES. 

PRESIDENT. 

TI'CE  PRESIDENT. 

5 
i 

o     . 

2.  ^ 
We 

o 

c 

o 

QO 
O 

^i 
?   ffi 

a  g 

1= 

<% 

a  o 

'3  m 

8 

15 

4 

8 

7 

26 

.... 

3 

■a 

a 
f 

2  . 

=  f 
|2 

0 

0  a 

a  □ 
3  := 

..a 
c  0 

•3  0 

a 

«2 

is 
^  0 

0 

a 
0 

CD 

.a 

CS     . 
>  n 

=  = 

0 

5  J? 

!»>  3 

^  ..J 

a  a 

13 

8 
15 
4 
8 
7 

36 

8 

28 

3 

11 

24 

15 

11 

9 

14 

11 

16 

5 

5 

3 

S 

5 

9 

3 

7 

15 

3 

1 

.... 

"s' 

'.'.'.'. 

"5' 

"2' 
1 

24 

"9" 

"4 

!!!! 
.... 

7 
29 

8 
28 

1 
10 

'ih' 
11 

1 

8 

28 

7 

"Dplawarp  ... 

7 

— 

15 
11 

.... 

9 

14 

'id' 
"3* 

7 
11 

"5' 
5 
3 
3 

5 
9 

7 

11 

.... 

■  ■  •  ■ 

Ohio 

16 

3 

5 
3 
2 
5 

2 

"i" 

"9' 



Tndiann, 

llississippi 

Illinois 

.... 

3 

.... 

Whole  No.  of  Electors... 
Majority 131 

*  ■  >  • 

*  * 

201 

99 

81 

•11  1  37 

182 

30 

24 

13 

9 

2 

Neither  candidate  for  the  Presidency  having  received  a  ma- 
jority of  the  electoral  votes,  it  devolved  upon  the  House  of  Kep- 
resentatives  to  choose  a  President  from  the  three  highest  on  the 
list  of  those  voted  for,  which  three  Avere  Andrew  Jackson,  John 
Quincy  Adams,  and  William  H.  Crawford.  Twenty-four  tellers 
(one  member  from  each  State)  were  appointed,  who,  after  exam- 
ining the  ballots,  announced  that  the  votes  of  thirteen  States 
had  been  given  for  John  Quincy  Adams;  the  votes  of  seven 
States  for  Andrew  Jackson ;  and  the  votes  of  four  States  for 
William  H.  Crawford.  The  Speaker  then  declared  that  John 
Quincy  Adams,  having  received  a  majority  of  the  votes  of  all  the 

States,  was  duly  elected  President  of  the  United  States  fur  four  years,  commencing 
on  the  4th  of  March,  1825;  on  which  day  Mr.  Adams  took  the  oath  of  office,  and 
entered  upon  his  duties. 

John  C.  Calhoun,  having  been  elected  Vice  President,  took  the  oath  of  office, 
and  attended  in  the  Senate,  March  4,  1825. 


102 


ELECTORAL  TOTES. 


Election  Jur  the  Elecaith  Term,  commencing  March  4,  1S29,  n?id' 
terminating  March  3,  18o3. 


2S 

el 


0 

8 

15 

4 

8 

7 

3G 

8 

28 

3 

11 

24 

16 

11 

9 

14 

11 

16 

5 

3 

6 

3 

5 

3 

2C1 


STATES. 


Maine 

New  Hampshire. 
Massachusetts... 
Rhode  Island.... 

Connecticut 

Vermont 

New  York 

New  Jersey 

Pennsylvania.. . . 

Delaware 

Maryland 

Virginia 

North  Carolina.. 
SoDth  Carolina.. 

Georgia 

Kentucky 

Tennessee 

Ohio 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Indiana 

Illinois 

Alabama 

Missouri 


Whole  No.  of  Eelcctors. 
Majority 


.i:!l 


PRESID'T.  VICE  VRESLD't 


20 


2S 


178 


^  e 


c  = 

S  ~ 


83     171 


83 


-2  2 
So 


3 
>   O 


Andrew  Jackson  took  the  oath  of  office,  as  President,  and  en- 
tered upon  his  duties  March  4,  1829. 

John  C.  Calhoun  took  the  oath  of  office,  as  Vice  President, 
and  presided  in  the  Senate  March  4,  182'J. 

A  series  of  unfortunate  political  and  social  occurrences  soon 
led  to  a  rupture  of  that  cordiality  which  had  formerly  existed 
between  these  two  distinguished  individuals,  the  consequences 
of  which  were  peculiarly  disastrous  to  the  political  aspirations 
of  Mr.  Calhoun,  who  was  never  afterwards  regarded  with  much 
favor  beyond  the  immediate  limits  of  his  own  State. 

Note.— It  was  during  tliis  administration  that  the  doctrine  of  State's  rights 
was  80  strongly  tirgid  by  Calhoun,  and  to  this  period  may  be  dated  tho  origin  cf 
the  great  rebellion  of  ISOl. 


ELECTORAL  VOTES. 


10$ 


Election  for  the  Twelfth  Term,  commencing  March  4,  1833,  and 
terminating  March  Z,  1837. 


STATES. 

PRESIDENT. 

VICE  PRESIDENT. 

o  « 

4-1    *J 

s-s 

^  1) 

■Or- 

O 

V4 

o 

-•c 

^    Urn 

"      O 

a 
t 

a  c 

10 

7 

li. 

a  -- 

•-5    Z 

u 

0  z 

^  3 

II 

a 

10 

7 

14 

4 

8 

7 

42 

8 

30 

3 

10 

23 

15 

11 

11 

15 

10 

7 

N(!W  HaniDshire.  • 

14 
4 

8 

Rhode  Island  *•>••• 

4 

8 

Connecticut...     •.. •.■••• 

■  ■  ■  ■ 

Vermont 

•  •  •  a 

42 

8 

30 

'42" 
g 

.... 

.... 

Pennsylvania >* 

Delaware 

3 

5 

..                 '"" 

■J 

5 

30 

Blarvlaiid.. , , 

3 
2.-$ 
15 

..::  "v 

23 
15 

Xorfh  Ofirolina 

South  Carolina 

11 

11 

11 

15 

15 

21 

5 

Tennessee 

15 
21 

5 
4 
9 
5 
7 
4 

219 

15 
21 
5 
4 
9 
5 
7 
4 

Ohio   

4 

TVIississinni • •••••■ 

9 

.... 

.... 

5 

7 

4 

Missouri 

Whole  No.  of  Electors 

Maioritv.- 145 

49 

7 

* 

288 

11 

180  1  49 

30 

11 

7 

Andrew  Jackson,  re-elected  President,  took  the  oath  of  office, 
and  continued  his  duties,  March  4,  1833. 

Martin  Van  Buren,  having  been  elected  Vice  President,  took 
the  oath  of  office,  and  attended  in  the  Senate,  jNIarch  4,  1833. 

Early  in  June,  1833,  the  President  left  Washington  on  a  tour 
through  the  Northern  States,  and  was  everywhere  received  with 
an  enthusiasm  that  evinced  the  cordial  approval  of  his  adminis- 
tration by  the  people.  One  of  his  first  measures,  on  returning 
to  the  seat  of  government,  was  the  removal  of  the  public  moneys 
from  the  United  States  Bank,  for  which  act  he  encountered  the 
most  virulent  hostility  of  a  small  majority  of  the  Senate,  who 
passed  resolutions  censuring  his  course.  But  this  injustice  has 
not  been  perpetuated;  for  on  the  10th  of  January,  1837,  these 
partisan  resolutions  were  expunged  from  the  records  by  order 
of  a  handsome  majority. 


104 


El.ECTOKAL    VOTES. 


Election  for  the  ThirUaith   Term,  commendng  March  i,  1837, 
and  terminating  March  3,  1841. 


s 

o 

■T.\TB8. 

Maine ,.., , 

New   Hampshire 

PRESIDENT. 

VICE  PEE8IDK.NT. 

o  * 

>>* 

.=  ? 

St 

o 

m 
k. 

3    H 
>  w 

It 

-  M 

1  . 

■  ►*•  c 

■■    c 

0 

ii 

—  XI 

10 

lu 

7 

10!.... 

7  I-... 
1  ii 

7 

■•■•■    •••■ 

U 

Ma.^sacliusettH 

14'  '.'.'.'. 

....p... 

4 

miotic  Island 

•  '•iiniL'cticiit 

■1 

8 

4 

8 

"••| 

8 

"*■'"* 

7 

Vermont 

" 

....  1 

7 

*?. 

New  York 

it 

42 

.... 

8 

New  Jersey 

8 

3' 

10 

..?. 

.... 

i'.-iinsvlv;ini:i 

D.'lawaro 

;;o 

.... 

.... 

:iO 



10 

Maryland 

.... 

10 

•« 

Virginia 

2:{ 
lo 

.... 

.... 

23 

i."-) 

Niirili  Carolina 

15 

.... 

•  •  •  • 

11 

South  Carolin.a 

— 

11 
11 

n 

G.-orgia 

11 

ir. 

Kentuckj' 

15 

•  •  •  • 

ir. 

Tennesgm' 

15 

•  •  •  • 

15 

Zl 

Ohio 

21 

*  "  *  * 

A 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Indiana 

5 
4 

5 
4 

'5' 
7 
4 
3 
3 

•  •  •  ■ 

4 



'» 

'J 

... 

.... 

U 

Illinois 

5 
7 
4 
3 
3 

7 

Alabama 

4 

Missouri 

.... 

:( 

Arkansas 

8 

Michigan 

.... 

... 

— 

Whole  No.  of  Electors 

2;»1 

170 

73 

2.3 

11 

11 

147* 

77 

47 

23 

Majority H8 

_-.i:t^ 

-Martin  Van  Buren,  elected  President,  took  the  oath  of  office, 
a-nd  entered  upon  his  duties,  I\Iaroh  4,  1837. 

Richard  M.  Johnson,  elected  Vice  President,  took  the  oath  of 
office,  and  attended  in  the  Senate,  March  4,  1S37. 

Urged  by  the  unprecedented  financial  embarrassments  which 
were  experienced  in  every  branch  of  industry,  and  especially 
l)y  the  mercantile  class,  Mr.  Van  Buren's  first  measure  was  to 


convene  a  special  meeting  of  Congress  early  in  September,  '37, 
which  continued  in  session  forty  days,  but  accomplished  very 
little.  A  bill  authorizing  the  issue  of  $10,000,000  in  treasury 
notes  was  passed;  l)ut  the  Independent  Treasury  bill  (the  great 
financial  measure  of  the  administration)  was  then  rejected,  al- 
though afterwards  (in  1S40)  adopted. 


IS40)  adopted. 

•Elected  by  the  Senate, 


SH.KOTORAL    TOTES. 


ro5 


Election  for  the  Fouvieenth  Term,    covimencwg  March  4,  1841, 
and  terminating  March  3;  1845. 


PEESID'T.     TICJK  PKXSIDENT. 


O  d 

•M  *^ 
o-uo 

5-2 

o 
o 
K 


10 
7 

14 
4 
8 
7 

42 

« 

30 

3 

10 

■23 

15 

11 

11 

15 

15 

21 

5 

4 

g 

5 
7 
4 
3 
3 

234 


STATES. 


e~' 


Slaine 

New  Ilampshirc. 
Mass.ichusetts. . . 
Ehode  Island. . . 

Connecticut 

Termont 

New  York 

New  Jersey 

Pennsylvania.. 

Delaware 

Maryland 


>irginia 

North  Carolina 
South  Carolina. 

Georgia 

Kentucky 

Tennessee 

Ohio 


Louisiana. . 
Mississippi. 
Indiana.. .. 
Illinois...., 
Alabama. .. 
Missouri. . . 
Arkansas. . 
Michigan. . 


-s  o 


Zf^ 


10 


15 


No.  of  Electors. 
Majority.. 


.148 


234 


a   . 

O  ^ 


"^    - 


GO    234 


22 


1-5  o 


-5    O 


11 


43     11 


William  H.  Ilurrisorr,  elected  President,  took  the  onth  of  of 
fice,  and  entered  upon  his  duties,  March  4,  1841. 

John  Tyler,  elected  Vice  President,  took  the  oath  of  ofSec, 
and  attended  in  the  Senate,  March  4,  1841. 

Soon  aft^r  his  inauguration,  President  Harrison  issued  a  pro- 
clamation, convening  Congress  for  an  extra  session  on  the  31st 
of  May,  to  consider  "sundry  weighty  and  important  matters, 
chiefly  growing  out  of  the  state  of  the  revenue  and  finances  of 
the  country."  But  he  did  not  live  to  submit  his  remedial  plans 
— dying,  after  a  very  brief  illness,  on  the  4th  of  April,  exactly 
one  month  after  coming  into  office.  He  was  the  first  President 
who  had  died  during  liis  official  term,  and  a  messenger  was  im- 
mediately dispatched  with  a  letter,  signed  by  all  the  members 
of  the  Cabinet,   conveying    tlio    melancholy  intelligence  to  the 


106  ELECTOUAI,  VOTES. 

Vice  rresident,  then  at  Williamsburfr,  Va.  V>j  extraordinary 
means  }ic  reached  Wasliin;4ton  at  live  o'clock  on  the  morning 
of  the  0th,  and  at  twelve  o'clock  the  Heads  of  Departments 
waited  upon  him,  to  pay  their  official  and  personal  respects. 
After  signifying  his  deep  feeling  of  the  public  calamity  sus- 
tained by  the  death  of  I'resident  Harrison,  and  expressing  his 
profound  sensibility  of  the  heavy  responsibilities  so  suddenly 
devolved  upon  himself,  he  made  known  his  wishes  that  the  sev- 
eral Heads  of  Departments  would  continue  to  lill  the  places 
which  they  then  respectively  occupied,  and  his  confidence  that 
they  would  aflbrd  all  the  aid  in  their  power  to  enable  him  to  carry 
on  the  administration  of  the  government  successfully.  Mr.  Tyler 
afterwards  took  and  subscribed  the  following  oath  of  office : 

"I  do  solemnly  swear,  that  I  will  faithfully  ixeciito  thn  office  of  President  of 
the  United  States,  and  will,  to  tlio  best  of  Biy  ability,  preserve,  protect,  and  de- 
fend the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  JOHJf  TYLER. 

"Aphil  e,  ISU." 

Pursuant  to  the  proclamation  of  President  Harrison,  Congress 
met  on  the  31st  of  May,  and  continued  in  session  until  the  13th 
of  September.  On  the  27th  of  July  a  bill  for  the  establishment 
of  "The  Fiscal  Bank  of  the  United  »States,"  passed  the  Senate 
by  a  vote  of  26  to  23,  and  was  concurred  in  by  the  House  of 
Representatives  on  the  Cth  of  August — 128  to  91.  J'resident 
Tyler,  however,  returned  the  bill  on  the  16th,  with  his  objec- 
tions, and  it  was  lost  for  lack  of  a  constitutional  majority.  But 
the  friends  of  a  national  bank  were  not  to  be  deterred  from  their 
purpose  by  a  single  repulse:  another  bill  (about  the  same  in 
substance)  was  immediately  hurried  through  botli  Houses,  un- 
der the  title  of  "The  Fiscal  Corporation  of  the  United  States," 
but  this  shared  the  fate  of  its  predecessor. 

A  Senate  bill  for  the  establishment  of  a  uniform  system  of 
bankruptcy  throughout  the  United  States,  was  concurred  in  by 
the  House  on  the  18th  of  August,  and  became  a  law;  but,  meet- 
ing with  very  general  condemnation,  it  was  soon  after  repealed. 

A  bill  was  also  passed  at  this  extra  session  for  the  distribution 
of  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  the  public  lands  among  the  seve- 
ral States,  in  proportion  to  population. 

In  1842  an  important  treaty,  adjusting  the  north-eastern  boun- 
dary of  the  United  States,  was  negotiated  at  Washington  be- 
tween ^Ir.  Webster,  on  the  part  of  this  country,  and  Lord  Ash- 
burton,  on  the  part  of  (Jrcat  Britain. 

During  the  last  year  of  Mr.  Tyler's  administration  much  excite- 
ment prevailed  on  the  proposed  annexation  of  Texas  to  the  Union, 
which  was  strongly  resisted  at  the  North,  on  the  ground  that  the 
South  and  southern  institutions  would  thereby  gain  increased 
power  in  the  national  councils.  A  treaty  of  annexation,  signed 
by  the  President,  was  rejected  by  the  Senate,  but  measures  were 
taken  by  which  Texas  was  admitted  the  year  following. 


5LECT0KAL     VOTKS. 


107 


Election  fur  the  jpifteenth   Term,  commencing  March  4,  1845, 
and  terminating  March  3,  184y. 


S 

o 

a 


P  3 


9 

6 

12 

4 

G 

6 

30 

7 

2(j 

3 

8 

17 

11 

9 

10 

12 

13 

23 

6 

6 

12 

9 

9 

7 

3 

5 

275 


STATES. 


Maine 

New  Hampshire. 
Massachusetts  . . 
Rhode  Island.. . . 

Connecticut 

Vermont 

New  York 

New  Jersey 

Pennsylvania  . . . 

Delaware 

Maryland... 

Virginia  » 

North  Carolina  . 
South  Carolina.. 

Georgia 

Kentucky 

Tennessee 

Ohio 


Louisiana. . 
Mississippi. 
Indiana. . .. 


Illinois  . ., 
Alabama.. 
Missouri.. 
Arkansas.. 
Michigan  . 


Whole  No.  of  Electors. 
Majority 


PRES  T. 


'--I.  7 


17 


\?A 


6 
6 
12 
9 
9 
7 
3 


170    105    170 


313 
26 

17" 

'J 
10 


'^'A 


12 
4 
0 
G 

"7' 

3' 

8 

"ii" 


12 

13 

22 


105 


James  K.  Polk  took  the  oath  of  office,  as  rresident,  and  en- 
tered upon  his  duties  March  4,  1845. 

George  M.  Dallas  took  the  oath  of  office,  as  Vice  President, 
and  attended  in  the  Senate,  March  4,  1845. 

The  most  important  incidents  of  Mr.  Polk  s  administration 
were  the  admission  of  Texas  and  the  consequent  war  with  Mex- 
ico, the  latter  of  which  resulted  in  extending  our  territorial 
boundaries  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  embracing  regions  of  incalcu- 
lable value. 


1^8 


^nfECVORAL  VOTBS. 


Elediion  Jor  the  Sixteenth  Term,  coinmencing  March  4,  1841),  and 
terminating  March  3,  1851. 


0 
p 


STATES. 


J« 


V.  pres't 


3     . 
■  «^ 

p 

5  a 

>  I*- 


9 

6 

12 

( 

C 

0 

30 

7 

3 

8 

17 

H 

9 

10 

12 

13 

23 

G 

6 

12 

U 

9 

7 

3 

5 

3 

4 

4 

4 

200 


Maine 

New  HiimpBliii'c 

]\laiisac)iusett8 

KUodc  Island 

Connecticut 

Vermont 

Now  York.H. 

New  Jersey 

Pennsylvania 

Delaware 

Maryland 

Virginia 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Georgia lU 

Kentucky 12 

Tennessee 13 


11 


Ohio I 

Louisiana C 

Mississippi ' 

Indiana L  ... 

Illinois '.... 

Alabama 

^Alissuuri 

Arkansas '. ... 

Micliigan 

Florida 

Texas 


Iowa 

Wisconsin. 


11 

10 
12 
13 


17 


23 

"e" 

12 
9 
8 
7 
3 
6 

>  •  •  • 

4 
4 

4 


Zachary  Ta3'lor  took  the  oath  of  office,  as  President,  and  entered 
upon  his  duties  March  4,  1849.  He  did  not,  however,  ionirenjoy  his 
honors — death  suddenly  closinti;  his  ciirthly  career,  .Inly  9,1850. 

Millard  Fillmore  took  the  oath  of  olEce,  as  \'ice  President,  and 
entered  upon  his  duties  March  4,  1849.  Congress  heinp;  in  session 
at  the  time  President  Taylor  died,  the  Vice  Pre.sident  sent  araes- 
eage  to  both  houses  on  the  lOth  of  July,  in  wliich  he  feelingly  an- 
nounced tiic  melancholy  event.  On  the  same  day  he  took  the  reqtii- 
Bite  oath,  and  entered  on  the  execution  of  the  ollicc  of  President 

^ViHie  p.  Mangum,  of  N.  C,  President  ^^ro  tern  of  the  Senate, 
acted  as  Vice  President, ex  q^cio,during  tho  remainder  of  the  term. 


ElEOTOKAL     VOTKS> 


10.9 


Eleciion  for  the  Serenieenih  Term,  commencing  March  4,  1853, 
and  terminating  March  3,  1857. 


a 

o 


S5 

4-»QQ 


o 
'A 

~% 

5 

13 

4 

6 

5 

35 

7 

27 

3 

8 

15 

10 

8 

10 

12 

12 

■23 

G 

7 

13 

11 

9 

9 

4 

G 

3 

4 

4 

5 

4 

290 


STATES. 


Maine 

New  Ilaiiipshiie. 
Massachusetts  . . 
llhode  Island.. . , 

Connecticut 

Vermont 

New  York 

New  Jersey 

Pennsylvania . . . 

Delaware 

Maryland 

Virginia 

North  Carolina  . 
South  Carolina.. 

Georgia 

Kentucky. ...... 

Tennessee.- 

Ohio 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

ludiana 

Illinois 

Alabama 

Missouri 

Arkansas 

Michigan 

Florida 

Texas 

Iowa 

Wisconsin 

California 


p. 
cffi 

8 
5 


Whole  No.  of  Electors 

Majority I'i^O 


pkes't. 


so 

n 

^i  MS 

«  s  l~ — 


T.  PfiES'T 


13 


54.    42    254     42 


s  s 


;u 


12 
12 


Franklin  Pierce  took  the  oath  of  office,  as  Pre&ident,  and 
entered  upon  his  duties  March  4,  1853. 

The  oath  of  office  was  administered  to  William  R  King  by  a 
commission  while  he  was  on  a  visit  to  Cuba  for  the  benefii  of  his 
health;  but  he  died  soon  after  his  return  homCj  and  Jesse  D. 
Bright,  of  Indiana,  then  President  of  the  Senate,  acted  as  Vice 
President,  ex  officio,  during  the  remainder  of  the  term. 

John  P.  Hale,  of  N.  II.,  and  George  W.  Julian,  of  lud.,  were 
nominated  by  the  "Free  Democracy"  for  President  and  Vice 
President,  but  they  dad  aot  receive  a  single  electoral  vote.. 


110 


KLKCTOKAL    VOTfS. 


Election  for  ihc  Eighteenth    I'erm,  commencing  March  4,  1857, 
and  terminating  March  3,  J8G1. 


STATES. 

rBESIDEST. 

vice-pbks't. 

a 

Cm 

o 

3 

IP 

a-  c 

i§ 

o 

a 
2 

1.; 

-■  o 

•^;^. 

8 

5 

13 

4 

35 

0 
0 

a 

^^ 

u 

'u 
i? 

•  ••  • 

3 

.   u 

-2  ^ 

r^ 

-'  0 

8 

5 

13 

4 

G 

5 

35 

1 

£g 
■<  0 

s 

5 

i.i 

4 

C 

Xpw  TTatTir)*^liire.  •*•• -•• •• 

Massju-Jiusctts 

TMickIp   f-il'iml ••••. 

.... 



•    ■•■        •••• 



7 

27 

3 

8 

15 

10 

8 

10 

12 

12 

23 

G 

7 

New  Jfi'sey 

7 

27 

3 

.... 

7 

27 

3 

15 
10 
8 
10 
12 
12 

"23" 

5 

15 
10 
8 
10 
12 
12 

"e" 

7 

13 

11 

9 

9 

4 

"ii" 
4 

"4" 

.... 

'23" 

G 

"4' 

5 

OIj  io      

Tjoui.-iiana 

G 
7 
13 
11 
9 
9 
4 

11 
19 
9 
4 
0 
3 
4 
4 
6 
4 

Texas 

3 
4 

Wisconsin--' 

'T 

230 

174 

114 

8    174 

114 

s 

Majority 149 

James  Uuclianan  took  the  oath  of  office,  as  President,  and 
entered  upon  his  duties,  March  4,  1857. 

John  C.  15reckenridgc  took  the  oath  of  office,  as  Vice-Presi- 
dent, and  entered  upon  his  duties,  March  4,  1857. 

-•■■Wlicn  tlicElectiisal  votes  wore  being  conntod,  in  .Joint  Convention  of  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Kei)i-csentatives,  objections  were  maile  to  iiicliuliiig  tlie  votes  of  Wis- 
consin, because  tlie  electors  (lid  not  meet  until  the  day  after  that  prescribed  by  law. 
The  President  of  the  Convention  stated  that  he  merely  announced  that  .lames  Bu- 
chanan had  been  elected  President  of  the  United  States,  without  any  reference  to 
the  contested  votes,  aij<l  declined  expressing  an  opinion  on  the  subject. 


KLECTOKAL    VOTES. 


Ill 


Election  for  the  Nineteenth   Term,   commencing  March  4,  1861, 
and  terminating  March  3,  1865, 


a 

d 

STATES. 

PRESIDENT.  ,. 

VICE  PSESnTENT. 

y 

So 

is  a 

<  o 

to 

'u 

a 

n 

•-s  o 

o 

Ms 

C!  C 

^  = 

00 

"3) 

3 
o 

ft 

g.9 
.as 
ai-i 

£.„ 

_g  ■ 

a 
a 

B'o 

a 

W  a 

a 
0 

GQ 

la 

J3 
0 

1-5 

>-■«! 

It 

So 

8 

6 

13 

4 

8 
5 

13 
4 
6 
5 

35 
4 

27 

8 
5 

13 
4 
6 
5 

35 
4 

27 

Khode   Island 

c 

5 

35 

7 

27 

Ponnsvlvaniti..  ■ ..•.•....•>•> 

"3' 

8 

'15' 

'12' 
12 

3 

3 

8 

8 

15 

Vircrjjiia • ••••• 

15 

10 

10 

8 

10 

10 

8 

10 

g 

South   Caroliiiii. .   ...   ............... 

10 

Geortria.  •••••  •■■•■ 

12 

ICf^iitiickv. •. 

12 
12 

1-7 

Tennessee ••■■■  ........ 

0-{ 

Ohio 

23 

23 

6 

Louisitiua.  •.... ,, 

G 

7 

7 

7 

n 

13 
11 

13 
11 

11 

Illinois 

in 

9 

9 

0 

4 

4 

" 

4 

f> 

Michigan 

G 

6 

3 

Florida 

3 
4 

3 
4 

4 

Texas, , , 

4 

4 
5 
4 
4 
3 

4 
5 
4 
4 
3 

,5 

Wisconsin 

4 

Califoi'uia 

4 

Minnesota 

3 

Oregon 

39 

315 

Whole  No.  of  Electors ' 

Jtfajonty 157 

180 

72     39 

12 

180 

72 

12 

Abraham  Lincoln  took  the  oath  of  ofiSce  as  President,  and 
entered  upon  his  duties,  March  4th,  1861.  Hannibal  Hamlin 
took  the  oath  of  office  aa  Vice-President,  and  attended  in  the 
Senate  as  its  President,  on  the  4th  of  March,  1861.  The  acces- 
sion of  Mr.  Lincoln  to  the  Presidency  was  made  the  pretext  for 
the  great  rebellion  of  1861. 


GENERAL  REMARKS. 


The  propriety  of  holding  our  national  elections  so  often  aa 
once  every  four  years  has  been  questioned  by  some  of  the  ablest 
minds  in  the  country;  tlic  frequent  occurrence  of  those  exciting 
political  campaigns  which  precede  the  choice  of  the  President 
being  regarded  as  threatening  to  the  peace  and  Avell  being  of 
the  nation.  The  circumstances  of  the  past  ten  years  would 
seem  to  indicate  that  the  plan  has  not  been  a  good  one.  It  may 
be  doubted,  however,  whether  those  bitter  partizan  jealousies 
v/hich  culminated,  in  1861,  in  the  great  evil  of  rebellion,  re- 
sulted so  much  from  mere  party  contention  as  from  the  sec- 
tional character  of  the  two  parties  most  conspicuous  in  the  con- 
test. And  it  may  be  said  with  a  considerable  degree  of  safety 
that  80  long  as  parties  arc  promiscuously  distributed  over  the 
country  no  serious  evils  need  be  appprehendcd  from  the  fre- 
quency of  presidential  campaigns. 

The  people  of  the  United  tStates  were  always  remarkable 
for  the  readiness  with  which  they  returned  to  a  state  of  perfect 
equanimity  immediately  after  the  most  exciting  political  contests 
until  the  year  1860;  and  this  political  flexibility  is  no  doubt 
attributable  to  that  thorough  training  in  the  great  school  of 
liberty  wliich,  not  only  the  present  generation  of  Americans, 
but  tiicir  ancestors  enjoyed. 


(112) 


GKORGK  '.VASU  I N (in )N. 


113 


GEORGE  VfASmXGTON, 

THE  FIRST  PKESIDEXT  OF  THE   UNITED  STATES, 

The  most  exemplary  character,  perhaps,  that  ever  adorned  any 
era  in  history,  and  who  received  in  his  life-time  the  noble  appel- 
lations of  "the  Founder  of  a  Republic,"  and  "'the  Father  of  lii> 
Country,"  was  born  in  the  county  of  Westmoreland,  Vir/iiniii,  wn 
the  22d  of  February,  1732.  His  early  instruction  was  domestic 
and  scanty,  but  full  of  good  discipline  and  sound  principles; 
and  as  his  father  died  when  he  was  only  ten  years  old,  he  had 
no  subsequent  opportunities  for  acquiring  a  thorough  literary 
or  scientific  education.  However  aa  his  mind  was  naturally 
mathematical  and  philosophical,  he  prepared  himself  to  be  use- 

8 


/ 


114  GKOKGE  WASHINGTON. 

ful  to  his  fellow-citizens  an  a  civil  engineer;  and  as  tho  country 
was  wild,  and  much  of  it  then  unsurveyod,  he  occasionally  found 
agreeable  and  profitable  einploynient  in  surveying  different  parts 
of  his  native  State.  He  also  directed  much  of  his  attention  to 
the  science  of  arms,  in  the  use  of  which  every  young  man  was 
instructed,  in  order  to  repel  the  incursions  of  the  Indiana,  wlio 
were  often  led  on  by  skillful  Frenchmen.  At  the  age  of  nine- 
teen he  was  appointed  one  of  the  Adjutant  flenerals  of  Virginia, 
which  gave  him  the  rank  of  major,  and  soon  after  he  was  ad- 
viinced  to  a  colonelcy,  and  sent  by  Gov.  Dinwiddie  to  the  Oh)<i 
whh  dispatches  to  the  French  commander,  who  was  erecting 
fortifications  from  Canada  to  New  Orleans,  in  violation  of  exist- 
ing treaties.  The  (Jovcrnor  was  so  much  pleased  with  the  faith- 
ful discharge  of  this  dut_Y,  that  he  ordered  his  journal,  which 
extended  to  only  eighty  days,  to  be  printed;  but,  small  as  it 
was,  it  afforded  evidence  of  great  sagacity,  fortitude,  and  a  sound 
judgment,  and  firmly  laid  the  foundation  of  his  future  fame. 

Jn  the  spring  of  17o5,  Washington  was  persuaded  to  acoom- 
pany  (Jen.  Braddock  as  an  aid,  with  the  rank  of  colonel,  in  his 
disastrous  expedition  against  Fort  DuQuesuo;  and  had  his  ad- 
vice been  followed  on  tliat  occasion,  the  result  \Yould  have  been 
different. 

Three  years  afterwards  (1758)  Washington  commanded  th« 
\'ir£rinians  in  another  expedition  against  the  fort,  which  termi- 
nated successfully.  At  the  close  of  this  campaign  he  left  th.e 
arm)',  and  was  soon  after  married  to  Mrs.  Martha  Custis,  (th« 
widow  of  Col.  Daniel  Farke  Custis,)  whose  maiden  name  was 
Dandridge,  and  whose  intelligent  and  patriotic  conduct,  as  wife 
and  widow,  will  ever  be  gratefully  remembered  in  American 
annals. 

In  17.VJ  Ho  \vn«  elected  to  tlie  Iloueo  of  BurgeHaes,  and  continued  to  b«  returned 
to  tliut  body,  wit)i  tli«  exception  of  occasional  intervals,  until  1774,  wli»-n  he  traj 
sent  to  rciiresi^nt  Virginia  in  the  Continental  Congress.  His  welI-t"mi>crod  8e«l 
mid  military  skill,  wliic  li  enabled  him  to  suggest  the  nio.st  proper  means  for  n»- 
;ional  defence,  if  the  country  were  urged  to  cxtreniitieG,  soon  fixed  all  eyes  upon 
him,  as  one  well  (nialifie<l  to  direct  in  the  hour  of  peril ;  .ind  accordingly,  after 
the  tirst  scene  of  the  revolutionary  drama  was  opened  at  Lexiupton  and  Concord, 
and  au  army  had  concentrated  at  Cambridge,  ho  was,  on  thn  l.'^th  of  Juno,  177.', 
unanimously  appointed  commander-in-chief  of  tin)  American  forces.'  The  self- 
sacrificing  spirit  ■which  governed  his  future  course  is  too  well  known  to  rojuire  any 
elucidation. 

After  bringing  the  war  to  a  successful  termination,  he  hastened  to  Annapolii. 
where  Congress  was  then  iu  session,  and  on  the  23d  of  December,  17S.",  forniallj 
rvfligned  his  commission. 

In  May,  17»<7,  he  was  elected  to  the  ConTention  which  met  at  PhiladelphU  ftir 
the  purpose  of  forming  a  Constitution,  and  was  at  once  called  upon  to  preside  ovei 
its  deliberations.  After  that  admirable  instruBient  was  adopted  by  the  people,  h* 
was  unanimously  elected  the  first  I'resident  of  the  United  States  for  four  year»; 
at  the  expiration  of  which,  ho  was  unanimously  re-elected  for  a  second  term. 

On  the  12th  of  December,  1799,  he  wcs  ieired  with  an  inflammation  in  the  throat, 
which  grew  worse  the  next  day,  and  terminated  his  life  on  the  14th,  in  the  68tb 
y«ar  of  his  age. 


JOHN    ADAMS. 


115 


JOHN    ADAMS, 

THE    SECOND    PRESIDENT   OP    THE   UNITED    STATES, 

And  whose  fame  as  a  patriot  and  statesman  is  imperishable,  was 
born  at  Braintree,  Massachusetts,  October  19,  1735.  He  early 
displayed  superior  capacity  for  learning,  and  graduated  at  Cam- 
bridge college  with  great  credit.      After   qualifying  himself  for 


116  JOIIX    ADAMS. 

the  legal  profession,  he  was  admitted  to  practice  in  1761,  and 
Boon  attained  that  distinction  to  which  his  talents  were  entitled. 
From  the  commencement  of  the  troubles  with  Great  Britain,  in 
1769,  he  was  among  the  most  active  in  securing  the  freedom  of 
his  country.  Being  elected  to  the  first  Continental  Congress,  ho 
took  a  prominent  part  in  all  the  war  measures  that  were  then 
originated;  and  eubsequentlj  suggested  the  appointment  of 
Washington  as  commander-in-chief  of  the  army.  He  was  one 
of  the  committee  which  reported  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence in  1776,  and  the  next  year  visited  France  as  commissioner 
to  form  a  treaty  of  alliance  and  commerce  with  that  country. 
Although  the  object  had  been  accomplished  before  his  arrival, 
his  visit  had  otherwise  a  favorable  efiect  on  the  existing  position 
of  affairs;  and  he  was  afterwards  appointed  to  negotiate  a  treaty 
of  peace  with  Great  Britain,  which,  after  many  laborious  and 
fruitless  efforts,  was  finally  accomplished  in  1783.  In  1785,  he 
was  sent  to  England  as  the  first  minister  from  this  country,  and 
on  his  return  was  elected  first  Vice-President,  in  which  olUco  ho 
served  two  terms,  and  was  then,  in  1797,  elected  to  succeed 
Washington  as  President.  ^Mauy  occurrences  tended  to  embar- 
rass his  administration,  and  to  render  it  unpopular;  but  it  is 
now  generally  admitted  to  have  been  characterized  by  patriot- 
ism and  vigor  equal  to  the  emergencies  which  then  existed. 
His  political  opponents,  however,  managed  to  defeat  his  re-elec- 
tion, and  he  was  succeeded  in  the  Presidency  by  Mr.  Jefferson, 
in  1801;  after  which,  he  retired  to  his  farm  at  Quincy,  where 
his  declining  years  were  passed  in  the  gratification  of  his  una- 
bated love  for  reading  and  contemplation,  and  where  he  was 
constantly  cheered  by  an  interesting  circle  of  friendship  and 
affection.  The  semi-centennial  anniversary  of  American  Inde- 
pendence, (July  4,  1826,)  was  remarkable,  not  merely  for  the 
event  which  it  commemorated,  but  for  the  decease  of  two  of  the 
most  active  participants  in  the  measures  by  which  independ- 
ence was  achieved.  On  that  day,  Adams  and  Jefferson  were 
both  gathered  to  their  fathers,  within  about  four  hours  of  each 
other,  "  cheered  by  the  benediction  of  their  country,  to  whom 
they  left  the  inheritance  of  their  fame,  and  the  memory  of  their 
bright  example." 

As  has  been  noticed  elsewhere,  Mr.  Adams  deemed  it  prudent, 
in  the  early  part  of  his  administration,  when  impending  difS 
culties  with  France  seemed  to  render  war  inevitable,  to  offer 
Washington  the  commrssion  of  Lieutenant-General  and  Com 
mander-in-Chief  of  the  army,  which  he  accepted  as  a  matter  of 
duty,  and  held  until  his  death,  but  fortunately  never  found  i\ 
necessary  to  take  the  field. 


THOMAS    JEFFERSON. 


117 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON, 

THE    THIRD    PRESIDENT    C.-'    THE    UNITED  STATBS, 

Was  born  at  Shadwell,  Albemarle  county,  Va.,  (near  Monticello, 
the  seat  where  he  died,)  April  13,  1743.  He  was  educated  at 
William  and  Mary's  college,  and  graduated  with  distinction 
when  quite  young.  He  was  a  great  lover  of  learning,  and  particu- 
larly of  natural  philosophy.  With  the  celebrated  George  Wythe 
he  commenced  the  study  of  the  law,  and  became  a  favorite  pupil. 
Mt.  Jefferson  was  never  distinguished  as  an  advocate,  but  was 


118  THOMAS    JBPFKK30N. 

considered  a  good  lawyer.  Soon  after  ho  came  to  the  bar,  he 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  and  in  that 
body  was  duly  appreciated  for  his  learning  and  aptitude  for 
business,  lie  af^nco  took  fire  at  British  oppression ;  and  in 
1774,  he  employed  his  pen  in  discussing  the  wnole  course  of  the 
British  ministry.  The  work  was  admired,  and  made  a  text-book 
by  his  countrymen.  In  June,  1775,  he  took  his  seat  in  the  Con- 
tinental Congress,  from  Virginia.  In  that  body  he  soon  became 
conspicuous,  and  was  considered  a  firm  friend  of  American  lib- 
erty. In  1776,  he  was  chosen  chairman  of  the  committee  that 
drafted  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  This  instrument  is 
nearly  all  his  own,  and  was  sanctioned  by  his  coadjutors  with 
few  alterations.  In  1778,  Mr.  Jefi^erson  was  appointed  ambas- 
sador to  France,  to  form  a  treaty  with  that  government,  but  ill- 
health  prevented  his  accepting  this  office.  He  succeeded 
Patrick  Henry,  in  1779,  as  Governor  of  Virginia,  and  continued 
in  that  station  two  years.  In  1781  he  composed  his  notes  on 
Virginia.  In  1783,  he  was  sent  to  France,  to  join  the  min- 
isters of  our  country,  Mr.  Adams  and  Dr.  Franklin.  Jn 
1785,  he  succeeded  Dr.  P'ranklin  as  ambassador,  and  continued 
performing  the  duties  of  that  office  for  two  years,  when  he  re- 
tired and  returned  home.  In  1789,  he  was  made  Secretary  of 
State,  under  Washington,  in  which  situation  he  was  highly  dis- 
tinguished for  his  talents.  This  station  he  resigned  in  1793, 
and  retired  to  private  life.  In  1797,  he  was  elected  Vice  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  and  took  his  seat  as  President  of  the 
Senate,  on  the  following  4th  of  March.  In  1801,  he  was  elected 
President  of  the  United  States,  which  office  he  held  for  eight 
years.  After  completing  his  second  term,  he  retired  to  private 
life,  in  which  ho  spent  his  days  in  philosophical  pursuits,  until 
the  4th  of  July,  1826,  when  he  expired,  just  fifty  years  after 
penning  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  His  course  was  one 
of  his  own.  Never  lived  there  a  politician,  who  did  more  than 
Thomas  JeflFereon,  to  bring  his  fellow-citizens  to  his  own  opin- 
ions. 


JAMES    MADISON. 


119 


Sk^     ^^^V©  '// 


JAMES  MADISOX, 

THE   FOURTH    PRESIDENT    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES, 

Was  born  in  Orange  county,  Va.,  March  16,  1751.  His  studies, 
preparatory  to  entering;;  Princeton  College,  were  pursued  under 
the  most  favorable  circumstances,  he  being  provided  with  the 
most  accomplished    instructors,    and    he   graduated    with  high 


120  JAMKS    MADISON. 

honor  iti  J  771.  (Ui  reiurninf^  to  \  ir;;iiii;t.  ue  /.i.'a:(.u.-..y  com- 
oicncc'd  the  rstmly  ui"  the  liiw,  wliich  he  suioc.juenliy  iiSiiiaJonod 
for  political  lite. 

In  177t),  he  was  elected  to  the  Gleneral  Aasemlilj  of  Virginia; 
and  from  ttii.s  period,  for  more  than  I'orty  ye:ir.s.  he  was  eontinu- 
lUy  in  oflioe,  serving  his  State  and  his  country  in  variuua  ca- 
Ducities,  from  that  ol  a  ^^late  Lc^cislatur  to  that  of  I'roident. 

In  1778,  he  was  elected  hy  the  Le.i;i»lature  to  the  executive 
•nuncil  of  the  iState,  M'here  lie  rendered  important  aid  to  Henry 
iiid  Jefferson,  govemcjrs  of  Virginia,  during  the  time  lie  lield  a 
•eat  in  the  council;  and  by  liis  jiroiiity  ol  character,  laiiiilulnesd 
:n  the  discharge  of  duty,  and  aiuiableness  of  deportujeiit,  he 
*on  the  approbation  of  tliese  great  men.  in  the  winter  of  1779— 
SO,  he  took  hi.s  seat  in  the  Continental  Congre.s.s,  and  became 
immediately  an  active  :ind  leading  meiuher,  as  the  j(<urnal  of 
that  body  abundantly  testilies 

In  1784,  '5,  6,  he  was  a  member  of  the  Legislature  of  A  irginia. 
In  1787,  ho  became  a  member  of  the  Convention  held  in^i'hila- 
delphia,  fur  iiie  nurposo  of  proitaring  a  Conotitutiou  lor  tiie  gov- 
ernment of  tliC  Lnited  scales.  Perhap.s  no  meniijer  of  that  body 
had  more  to  do  with  the  formation  of  that  noble  instrument,  the 
"Constitution  of  the  United  states  of  America,"  than  Mr.  Madison. 

It  was  during  the  recess  between  the  proposition  of  the  Con- 
stitution by  the  Convention  of  1787,  and  its  adoption  by  the 
."^tates,  that  that  celebrated  work,  "The  I'^ederalist,"  made  its 
appearance.  This  is  known  to  be  the  joint  production  of  Alex- 
ander Hamilton,  John  Jay,  and  James  ^ladison.  This  same  year 
he  was  elected  to  Congress,  and  held  his  seat  until  the  Conti- 
nental Congress  passed  away  among  the  things  that  were.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  State  Convention  of  Virginia  which  met  to 
adopt  the  Constitution,  and  on  the  establishment  of  the  new 
Congress  under  the  Constitution,  he  was  chosen  a  member,  re- 
taining his  seat  until  the  close  of  Washington's  administration. 

In  1801,  as  one  of  the  presidential  electors,  he  had  the  grati- 
fication of  voting  for  his  illustrious  friend  Jefferson,  who  imme- 
■liatcly  offered  him  a  place  in  his  cabinet,  which  was  accepted. 
Accordingly  he  entered  on  the  discharge  of  his  duties  as  Secre- 
rary  of  State,  which  duties  he  continued  to  perform  during  the 
whole  of  Mr.  Jefferson's  administration,  and  on  the  retirement 
of  that  great  statesman,  in  1800,  he  succeeded  to  the  I'residency, 
in  which  office  he  served  two  terms. 

Mr.  Madison  then  retired  to  his  peaceful  home  in  Virginia, 
where  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his  days  in  favorite  pastimes, 
loved  by  the  many  and  respected  ijy  ail,  until  the  2Sth  day  of  June, 
1826,  when  the  last  surviver  of  trie  Iramurs  of  our  Constitution 
was  gathered  to  his  fathers,  lull  of  years  and  glory. 


JAMES    MONROE. 


121 


JAMES  MONROE, 

THE    FIFTH    PRESIDENT    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES, 

One  of  he  few  exalted  characters  that  served  bis  country  in  both 
ft  civil  and  military  capacity,  was  born  in  Westmoreland  county, 
V'a.,  April  26,  1758,  and  vra's  educated  at  William  and  Marys 
college,  -SThcnce  ho  graduated  in  1776,  and  commenced  the  study 
of  tlic  law.  Anxious  to  aid  in  the  struggle  for  independence, 
which  had  then  just  began,  he  abandoned  his  studios,  and  en- 
tered the  army  as  a  cadet — -joining  a  corps  under  the  gallant 
General  Mercer.     He  soon  distinguished  himself  in  several  well- 


122  JAMES   MONEOB. 

foQgbt  battles,  and  rapid  promotion  followed,  until  he  reached 
the  rank  of  captain.  lie  was  at  Harlem  Hoightg  and  White 
riainp,  and  shared  the  perils  and  fatigues  of  the  distressing  re- 
treat of  "Washington  through  New  Jersey,  as  well  as  the  glory 
of  the  victory  over  the  Hessians  at  Trenton,  where  he  received 
a  musket  ball  in  the  shoulder;  notwithstanding  which,  ho  val- 
iantly "  fought  out  the  fight."  He  subsequently  accefited  the 
poet  of  an  aid  to  Lord  Stirling,  with  the  rankif  Major,  in  which 
position  he  saw  much  hard  service — being  engaged  in  almost 
every  conflict  for  the  two  succeeding  campaigns,  and  displaying' 

great  courage  and  coolness  at  the  bloody  battles  of  Brandy  wine, 
ermantown,  and  Monmouth. 

Aspiring  to  a  separate  command,  he  obtained  permission  to 
raise  a  regiment  in  his  native  State;  for  which  purpose  he  left 
the  army,  and  returned  to  Virginia,  whore  he  encountered  so 
many  unexpected  and  discouraging  obstacles,  that  ho  finally 
relinquished  the  enterprise,  and  resumed  his  law  studies  in  the 
oflBoe  of  Mr.  Jefferson. 

In  1780  ho  was  elected  to  the  Virginia  Legislature,  and  in 
the  following  year  was  madeonoof  Governor  Jell'erson's  council, 
in  which  he  continued  until  1783,  when,  at  tlie  age  of  twenty 
four  years,  he  became  a  member  of  the  Continental  (.'ongresa. 
After  serving  three  years  in  tliat  body,  he  was  again  returned 
to  the  State  Legislature. 

In  17S8,  while  a  member  of  the  Convention  to  decide  upon 
the  adoption  of  the  new  Constitution,  he  voted  in  the  minority 
against  that  instrument;  but  this  vote  did  not  at  all  affoct  his 
popularity.  Two  years  afterwards  he  was  elected  United  States' 
Senator,  and  in  17'.'4  he  was  sent  envoy  extraordinary  and  min- 
ister plenipotentiary  to  the  court  of  Versailles.  After  settling 
the  cession  of  Louisiana  to  the  United  States,  he  went  to  Eng- 
land to  succeed  Mr.  King  as  minister  at  the  court  of  St.  James. 
The  affair  of  the  frigate  Chasapeake  placing  him  in  an  uncom- 
fortable situation,  he  returned  to  the  United  States,  and,  in  1810, 
was  once  more  elected  to  the  Virginia  Legislature.  He  was 
soon  after  chosen  (lovornor  of  that  State,  in  which  office  he  re- 
mained until  Mr.  Madison  called  him  to  asHurao  the  duties  of 
Secretary  of  State  in  his  cabinet.  In  1817,  he  was  elected 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  in  1821  was  unanimously 
re-elected,  with  the  exception  of  a  single  vote  in  New  Hamp- 
ehire.     His  administration  was  a  prosperous  and  quiet  one. 

He  united  with  Jeffcreon  and  Madison  in  founding  the  Uuirersity  of  Virginia  ; 
and  when  the  convention  was  formed  for  the  rovision  of  the  Couatitutiou  of  hii 
State,  he  woe  c«Ued  to  preside  oyer  iti  action.  Not  long  after  thin,  lie  went  to 
rceido  with  a  beloved  daughter  (the  wife  of  Samuel  L.  Gouvornour,  Ksq.)  iu  New 
York  City,  where  hs  lived  until  the  anniversary  of  Independence  iu  1831,  when, 
"omidst  tlio  po»liiiE  joy  and  congratulations  of  that  proud  day,  ho  paaded  quietly 
and  in  glory  away." 


JOHN    QUIXCY   ADAMS. 


123 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS, 

THE  SIXTH  PRESIDENT  OF  THE   UNITED   STATES, 

Was  born  at  Quincy,  Massachusetts,  July  11,  1767,  and  received 
the  advantages  of  a  pretty  thorough  education  before  entering 
Harvard  Colleg-e,  which  was  not  until  the  year  1786.     After 


124     .  JOnX  QUINOY  ADAMS. 

graduating  with  marked  credit,  he  commenced  the  study  of  law 
at  Newburyport,  in  the  office  of  the  Hon.  Theophihi.'^  i'aisonH, 
for  many  years  Chief  Justice  of  Massachusetts.  While  pur- 
6uin;i  his  studies  he  found  leisure  to  ^Y^ite  several  newspaper 
essays,  which  attracted  much  attention,  and  displayed  a  matu- 
rity of  taste  and  judgment  seldom  attained  so  early  in  life.  In 
17'J4  Washington  appointed  him  minister  to  the  Netherlands, 
and  subsequently  transferred  liim  to  I'ortugal.  lie  was  after- 
wards, at  different  periods,  minister  to  Prussia,  Russia,  and 
Kimland;  and  was  one  of  the  commissioners  who  negotiated  tho 
treaty  of  peace  with  Ureat  Britain,  at  Uhent,  in  1815.  In  1817 
iie  was  appointed  Secretary  of  State,  in  which  oflice  he  con- 
tinued during  Mr.  Monroe's  administration,  eight  years;  when 
he  was  elected  by  the  House  of  Keprescntativea  President  of 
the  United  States — the  people  having  failed  in  making  a  choice. 
Like  his  father,  he  encountered  strong  opposition,  and  only 
served  one  term  in  this  office,  being  defeated  in  a  re-election  by 
(Jencral  Jackson,  lie  then  retired  to  hia  farm  at  Quincy,  but 
did  not  long  remain  in  private  life;  for  two  years  afterwards, 
he  was  chosen  llepresentative  in  Congress,  and  continued  to  be 
re-elected  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  tho  capitol  at 
Washington,  February  23,  1848.  Two  days  previous  to  this 
gad  event,  while  engaged  in  his  duties  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, he  received  a  paralytic  stroke,  whicli  apparently 
deprived  him  of  all  consciousness.  lie  was  borne  to  tho  Speak- 
er's room,  where  he  received  every  attention  that  could  be  be- 
stowed by  anxious  and  devoted  friends,  but  all  in  vain — his  hour 
was  come.  The  last  words  he  was  heard  to  utter  were,  "  This 
is  the  last  of  earth." 

Mr.  Adams  was  a  man  of  rare  gifts  and  rich  acquisitions.  A 
diligent  student,  and  economical  of  his  time,  he  found  oppor- 
tunity, amidst  all  his  public  cares,  to  cultivate  his  tastes  for 
literature  and  the  sciences.  Ho  was  one  of  the  finest  classical 
and  belles-lettres  scholars  of  his  time,  and  filled  the  chair  of 
Professor  of  Rhetoric  and  Bellcs-Lettres  in  Harvard  College  for 
several  years.  Even  in  his  old  age,  he  often  astonished  his 
hearers  with  the  elegant  classical  allusions  and  rhetorical  tropes 
with  which  he  enriched  and  embellished  his  own  productions. 


ANDREW  JACKSON. 


125 


i.y;  ^^ 

ANDREW  JACKSON, 

THE  SEVENTH  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

A  etatesman  of  rare  integrity,  and  a  general  of  invincible  skill 
and  courage,  was  born  at  Waxhaw,  Lancaster  county,  S.  C,  in 
1767,  and  while  yet  a  mere  lad,  did  something  towards  achieving 
the  independence  of  his  country.  It  is  said  that  he  commenced 
his  military  career  at  the  ago  of  fourteen  years,  and  was  soon 


126  AXDKEW  JACKSON". 

after  tnkcn  prisunar,  together  with  an  elder  brother.  During 
his  captivity,  Iio  was  ordered  by  a  British  officer  to  perform  some 
menial  service,  which  he  promptly  refused,  and  for  this  refusal 
was  "severely  wounded  with  the  sword  which  the  English- 
man disgraced."  He  was  educated  for  the  bar,  and  commenced 
practice  at  Nashville,  'J'enn.,  but  relinquished  his  legal  pursuits 
to  "gain  a  name  in  arms."  In  the  early  part  of  the  war  of 
1S12,  Congress  having  voted  to  accept  fifty  thousand  volunteers, 
(ieneral  Jackson  appealed  to  the  militia  of  Tennessee,  when 
twonty-five  hundred  enrolled  tlieir  names,  and  presented  them- 
selves to  Congress,  with  Jackson  at  their  head.  They  were 
accented,  and  ordered  to  Natchez,  to  watch  the  operations  of 
the  British  in  lower  Mississippi.  Not  long  after,  he  received 
orders  from  headquarters  to  disband  his  men,  and  send  them  to 
their  homes.  To  obey,  he  foresaw,  would  be  an  act  of  great 
injustice  to  bis  command,  and  reflect  disgrace  on  the  country, 
and  he  resolved  to  disobey.  lie  accordingly  broke  up  his  camp, 
and  returned  to  Nashville,  bringing  all  his  sick  with  him,  whose 
wants  on  the  way  he  relieved  with  his  private  means,  and  there 
disbanded  his  troops  in  the  midst  of  their  homes. 

He  was  soon  called  to  the  field  once  more,  and  his  commission 
marked  out  his  course  of  duty  on  the  field  of  Indian  warfare. 
Here  for  years  he  labored,  and  fought,  and  diplomatized,  with 
the  most  consummate  wisdom  and  undaunted  courage.  It  was 
about  this  time  that  the  treaty  of  the  "Hickory  Ground"  occur- 
red, which  gave  him  the  familiar  sobriquet  of  "Old  Hickory." 

The  crowning  glory  of  his  whole  military  career  was  the  bat- 
tle of  New  Orleans;  which  will  ever  occupy  one  of  the  bright- 
est pages  in  American  history. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  he  returned  to  his  home  in  Nashville; 
I)ut  in  1818  was  again  called  on  by  liis  country  to  render  his 
military  services  in  the  expulsion  of  the  Heiuinoles.  His  con 
duct  during  this  campaign  has  been  both  bitterly  condemned 
and  highly  applauded.  An  attempt  in  the  House  of  Represen- 
tatives to  inflict  a  censure  on  the  old  hero  for  the  irregularities 
(if  this  campaign,  after  a  long  and  bitter  debate,  was  defeated 
by  a  large  majority. 

In  1828,  and  again  in  1832,  General  Jackson  was  elected  to 
fill  the  presidential  chair;  thus  occupying  that  elevated  position 
for  eight  successive  years.  He  then  retired  to  his  hospitable 
mansion  ("the  Hermitage")  near  Nashville,  "loaded  with 
wealth  and  honors,  bravely  won,"  where  he  continued  to  realize 
all  the  enjoyments  that  are  inseparable  from  a  well-spent  life, 
until  death  translated  him  to  tliose  higher  rewards,  which  "earth 
can  neither  give  nor  take  away."  lie  died  June  8,  18-15,  and 
his  last  hours  were  soothed  by  a  trustful  reliance  on  the  Savior 
of  the  world  for  salvation. 


SIAKTIN    VAX    BUREjr. 


127 


MARTIN  VAN   BUREN, 

THE   EIGHTH    PRESIDENT   OF    THE     UNITED    STATES, 

Was  born  in  the  flourishing  town  of  Kinderhook,  New  ^Tork, 
September  5,  1782,  and  early  received  the  best  education  that 
could  then  be  obtained  in  the  schools  in  his  immediate  vicinity. 


128  MARTIX     VAN    IlUliKX. 

Having  Bufficiently  prepared  himself  for  the  studj  of  law,  he 
entered  the  office  of  Fninris  Sylvester,  in  his  niitivo  town,  where 
he  ruui, lined  :il)out  six  years.  Dut  law  did  not  engross  his 
whole  time  :  he  found  leisure  oceasioniilly  to  poor  into  the  mys- 
teries of  political  economy,  and  finally  arrived  at  the  conclusion 
that  his  chances  for  fame  and  fortune  were  at  least  equal  in  the 
arena  ui  politics  to  anything  ho  might  accomplish  by  a  strict 
adherence  to  legal  jmrsuita.  Fully  impressed  with  this  idea,  he 
early  Bet  about  cultivating  what  little  popularity  could  be  gained 
in  his  limited  sphere,  and  so  won  upon  the  confidence  of  his 
n«'iglil)ors  and  friends  us  to  be  appointed,  while  yet  in  his  tcais, 
a  delegate  to  a  convention  in  his  native  county,  in  which  im. 
portaut  political  measures  were  to  be  acted  upon. 

In  1SU8  he  was  appointed  Surrogate  of  Columbia  county,  the 
first  public  oiEce  he  ever  held;  and  in  1812  and  ISIG  he  waa 
elected  to  the  .State  Senate,  in  which  body  he  became  a  distin- 
guished leader  of  the  Madison  party,  and  one  of  its  most  elo- 
quent supporters. 

In  l'^21  he  was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate,  in  which 
he  held  his  seat  fur  nearly  eight  years,  and  became  remarkable 
not  only  for  his  clo.se  attention  to  business,  but  also  for  his  de- 
votion to  the  great  principles  of  the  Democratic  party. 

In  1828  he  was  elected  Governor  of  his  native  State,  and  en- 
tered upon  the  duties  of  that  (office  on  the  first  of  January,  1829; 
but  he  filled  the  guljcrnatorial  chair  for  only  a  few  weeks.  In 
March  following,  when  (Jeneral  Jackson  was  elevated  to  the 
Presidency,  he  tendered  Mr.  Van  l>uren  the  post  of  Secretary 
of  State,  which  was  accepted.  At  the  expiration  of  two  years 
he  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Cabinet,  and  was  immediately  ap- 
pointed minister  to  England ;  but  wlien  hia  nomination  waa 
submitted  to  the  Senate,  (June  25,  1831,)  it  was  rejected  by  the 
casting  vote  of  the  Vice  President,  (Mr.  Callioun)  and  of  course 
he  w.as  recalled.  As  his  friends  attributed  his  rejection  entirely 
to  personal  and  political  rancor,  it  only  served  to  raise  Mr.  Van 
Buren  in  the  estimation  of  iiis  political  adherents;  and  the  re- 
sult was,  that  in  May  following  he  was  nominated  with  great 
unanimity  for  the  Vice-Presidency  by  the  Democratic  Conven- 
tion at  Paltimore.  His  triumphant  election  was  regarded  not 
merely  as  a  high  compliment  to  himself,  but  as  a  wholesome 
rebuke  to  his  opponents. 

in  183G  he  was  put  in  nomination  for  the  chief  magistracy,  to 
which  he  was  elected  by  a  large  majority  over  Gen.  Harrison ;  but 
at  the  next  Presidential  election  llie  tables  were  turned,  and  ho 
only  received  sixty  votes  out  of  two  hundred  and  ninety-four. 

Alter  his  defeat,  )ie  rctiirued  to  Kiiidcrbook,  where  ho  remained  some  time,  and 
theu  visitfd  Kuropi-,  willi  one  of  his  sons,  whoao  restoration  to  hcjilth  wu3  the 
principal  object  of  liiij  journey.  Not  long  after  his  return,  bo  consented  to  bo- 
cume  once  more  u  condidute  for  the  Presidency,  and  iu  1848  received  the  uowiu»- 
UoD  of  the  Free-Soil  party  ;  but  did  not  secure  a  single  electoral  vote. 


WILLIAM  HKXHY  HAUKISON. 


129 


WILLIAM  HENRT  HARRISON, 

TFS  NINTH  PPESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Was  born  ip  Charles  City  county,  Va.,  February  9,  1773,  and 
was  educated  for  the  medical  profession  at  Hampden  Sydney 
College.     He  jiraduated  at  a  time  when  our  north-western  fron- 

9 


ISO  Wir-UAM  HENRY  HAKIMSOJf. 

tier  was  Buffcrini;;  much  from  the  neij^hboring  Imliuns;  aid  he 
lieving  that  lie  could  he  of  jireater  service  in  repelling  the 
savage  invadt-rs  than  in  pursiuiiij:  his  studies,  he  accepted  an 
ensign's  commission  from  I'resident  WashinLtmi,  and  joined 
the  army.  He  waa  promoted  to  a  lieutenaucj-  in  1792,  and  his 
skill  and  bravery  were  hiiihly  commended  by  (General  Wayne, 
under  whose  command  he  was  engaged  in  several  actions. 
After  the  bloody  battle  of  Miami  Jiapids,  lie  wa3  rcwaniod  with 
the  rank  of  captain,  and  immediately  placed  i;i  command  of  Fort 
Washington,  in  1797  he  resigned  his  coraiiiission,  fur  the  pur- 
pose of  accepting  the  office  of  Secretary  of  tl.e  North-West  Terri- 
tory, from  wiiiih  he  was  elected  a  delegate  to  Congress  in  1799. 

Wlien  a  territorial  government  was  formed  lor  Indiana,  he 
was  appointed  the  lirst  Governor,  and  continued  in  that  office 
till  1813.  To  his  civil  and  military  duties  he  added  those  of 
commissioner  and  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs;  and,  in  the 
course  of  his  administration,  he  .conclu  ied  thirLecn  important 
treaties  with  the  diU'erent  tribes.  On  the  7l:ii  of  November, 
1811,  he  gained  the  celebrated  battle  of 'i'ipp  canoe,  the  news 
of  which  was  received  througliout  the  countw  Avith  a  burst  of 
enthusiasm.  During  the  war  of  1812  he  was  njade  commander 
of  the  north-western  army  of  the  United  Stutes,  and  he  bore  a 
conspicuous  part  in  tlie  leailing  events  in  the  campaign  of  1S12, 
'13 — the  defence  of  Fort  Meigs,  and  the  victory  of  the  Thames, 
in  1814,  he  was  appointed,  in  conjunction  Avith  his  companions 
in  arms,  (iovernor  ^iielby  and  (Jeneral  (.'ass,  to  treat  witli  the 
Indians  in  the  north-west,  at  Clreenville;  and,  in  the  following 
year,  he  was  placed  at  the  head  of  a  commission  to  treat  with 
various  other  important  tribes. 

In  181G,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  Congress  from  Ohio; 
and,  in  1828,  he  v^'as  sent  minister  plenipotentiary  to  the  repub- 
lic of  Colombia.  On  his  return,  he  took  up  liis  residence  at 
North  Bend,  on  the  Ohio,  where  he  lived  upon  his  Airm,  in  com- 
parative retirement,  till  1836,  when  he  lM?came  a  candidate  for 
the  Presidency;  and  although  defeated  on  the  tirst  trial,  four 
years  afterwards  he  was  elected  by  a  large  majority,  and  inau 
gurated  in  1841.  But  he  did  not  long  survive  this  crowning 
honor,  as  he  died  on  the  4tli  of  April,  just  one  month  after  en 
tering  upon  his  duties.  His  funeral  obsequies  were  performed 
on  the  7th,  and  an  immense  concourse  assembled  to  pay  their 
testimony  of  respect.  Funeral  services  and  processions  also  took 
place  in  most,  of  the  princijial  cities  throughout  the  country. 
As  General  Harrison  Avas  the  lirst  President  who  died  while  in 
office,  his  successor,  Mr.  Tyler,  recommended  that  the  14th  of 
May  he  observed  as  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer,  and  accordingly 
it  was  so  observed. 


JOn\    TYLEK. 


ISl 


JOHN  TYLER, 

THE  SUCCESSOR  OF   GEN.  HARRISON,  AS   PRESIDENT, 

Was  born  at  Williamsburg,  Virginia,  March  29,  1790,  and  at 
the  age  of  twelve  years  entered  William  and  Mary's  College, 
where  he  graduated  with  distinguished  merit  five  years  after- 
wards. Few  have  commenced  life  at  so  early  a  period  as  Mr, 
I'yler — he  having  been  admitted  to  the  bar  when  only  nineteen, 
and  elected  to  the  Virginia  Legislature  before  attaining  his 
twenty-second  year.  In  1816  he  was  sent  to  Congress;  in  1825, 
elected  Governor  of  Virginia,  and  in  1827  became  United  States 
Senator;  in  which  capacity  he  firmly  supported  the  administra- 
tion of  General  Jackson — voting  against  the  tariff  bill  of  1828, 
and  against  re-chartering  the  United  States  Bank.  Notwith- 
standing this  last  vote,  the  friends  of  the  bank,  presuming  upon 
his  well-known  conservatism,  at  the  special  session  of  Congress 
called  by  his  predecessor,  introduced  a  bill  for  the  establishmeBt 


132  JOHN  TYLER. 

of  the  "Fiscal  i>ank  of  the  United  ytatcB,"  which  passed  both 
houses  by  small  majorities,  and  which  Mr.  Tyler  felt  bound  to 
veto.  I5ut  this  did  not  dishearten  the  friends  of  the  measure 
who  modified  and  rechristened  their  financial  plan,  which,  under 
the  name  of  "  Fiscal  Corporation  of  the  United  States,"  again 
passed  both  houses  of  Congress,  and  was  again  vetoed  by  the 
President.  Of  course,  a  large  portion  of  the  party  that  elected 
him  were  greatly  dissatisfied  with  his  course,  and  their  denun- 
ciation of  his  alleged  faithlessness  were  "  loud  and  deep."  To 
add  to  the  embarrassments  which  were  accumulating  around 
him,  all  the  members  of  his  Cabinet,  with  the  exception  of  Mr. 
Webster,  resigned  their  places;  but  even  this  implied  rebuke 
did  not  shake  his  integrity  of  purpose.  An  equally  efficient 
phalanx  of  talent  was  called  to  his  aid,  and  he  had  the  satisfac- 
tion of  seeing  that  his  views  were  endorsed  by  a  large  number 
of  leading  statesmen.  It  has  often  been  asserted  that  Mr.  T. 
had  pledged  himself  to  sustain  the  financial  schemes  of  the 
bank  and  its  friends;  but  this  has  always  boon  denied,  and  cir- 
cumstances certainly  warrant  the  conclusion  that  the  assertion 
is  unfounded.  So  gross  and  bitter  were  the  assaults  made  upon 
him,  that  he  felt  called  upon  to  defend  himself  from  their  vio- 
lence; and,  after  declaring  his  determination  to  do  his  duty, 
regardless  of  party  ties,  he  said:  "I  appeal  from  the  vitupera- 
tion of  the  present  day  to  the  pen  of  impartial  history,  in  confi- 
dence that  neither  my  motives  nor  my  acts  will  bear  the  inter- 
pretation which,  for  sinister  motives,  has  been  placed  upon 
them."  On  the  expiration  of  his  official  term,  he  retired  to  bis 
estate  at  Williamsburg. 


JAMES  KNOX   POLK. 


133 


JAMES  KNOX  POLK, 

THE  TENTH  PRESIDENT  OF   THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Was  born  at  Mecklenberg,  N.  C,  November  2,  1795,  and  there 
received  the  rudiments  of  his  early  education.  In  1806  his 
father  removed  to  Nashville,  Tennessee,  taking;  his  family  with 
him,  and  here  it  was  that  Mr.  Polk  pursued  those  preliminary 
studies  which  were  requisite  to  qualify  him  for  the  legal  profes- 
eion.  After  due  preparation,  he  entered  the  office  of  Hon.  Felix 
Grundy,  under  whose  able  instruction  he  made  such  rapid  pro- 
gress, that  he  was  admitted  to  practice  in  1820.  His  duties  at 
the  bar  did  not  prevent  him  from  taking  part  in  the  political 
affairs  of  the  day;  and  in  this  sphere  his  comprehensive  views 
and  zealous  devotion  to  democracy  soon  secured  him  a  widely- 
extended  popularity,  which  resulted  in  his  election  to  the  Leg- 
islature of  Tennessee  in  1823.  In  1825,  while  yet  in  his  thir- 
tieth year,^he  was  chosen  a  member  of  Congress,  in  which  body 


134  .TAMES  KKOX  POLK. 

be  remained  fourteen  years — being  honored  with  the  Speaker- 
ehip  for  several  sessions.  So  well  satisfied  were  his  constituents 
with  his  congressional  course,  that  he  was  elected  (Governor  by 
a  large  iniijority,  but  some  questionsof  local  policy  subsequently 
defeated  his  re-election. 

In  1844  he  was  unexpectedly  nominated  for  the  office  of  Pres- 
ident of  the  United  States  by  the  Democratic  Convention  at 
Baltimore;  and,  having  received  sixty-five  electoral  votes  more 
tlinn  his  rival  candidate,  Mr.  Clay,  he  was  inaugurated  on  the 
•4  th  of  March,  1845. 

Soon  after  Mr.  Polk  assumed  the  reins  of  government,  the 
country  became  involved  in  a  war  with  Mexico,  which  was  little 
more  than  a  series  of  victories  wherever  the  American  banner 
was  displayed,  and  which  resulted  in  important  territorial  acqui- 
sitions. The  ostensible  ground  for  this  war,  on  tite  part  of 
Mexico,  was  the  admission  of  Texas  into  the  Union,  which  was 
one  of  the  first  acts  of  Mr.  Polk's  administration.  The  Mexi- 
cans, however,  paid  dearly  for  asserting  their  frivolous  claim  to 
Texas  as  a  revolted  province,  and  the  prompt  and  energetic 
course  pursued  by  Mr.  Polk  was  sanctioned  and  sustained  by  a 
l-arge  majority  of  the  people. 

But  notwithstanding  the  advantageous  issue  of  the  war,  the 
aoquisition  of  Texas,  and  the  satisfactory  settlement  of  several 
Tcscd  questions  of  long  standing,  Mr.  Polk  was  not  nominated 
for  a  second  term — various  extraneous  matters  leading  to  the 
•election  of  another  candidate.  Perhaps  it  was  fortunate  for 
the  country  and  for  himself  that  he  Avas  permitted  to  retire  to 
the  more-  congenial  enjoyment  of  private  life;  for  his  health 
had  become  very  much  impaired,  and  he  did  not  lung  survive 
after  reaching  his  home  in  Nashville.     He  died  June  15, 1849. 


ZACHART    TAYLOR. 


135 


ZACHARY  TAYLOR,^ 

THE  ELEVENTH  PRESIDENT  OP  THE   UNITED  STATES, 

Was  born  in  Orange  county,  Virginia,  November  24,  1790,  and, 
after  receiving  an  indifferent  education,  passed  a  considerable 
portion  of  his  boyhood  amid   the  stirring  scenes  which  were 


136  ZACIlAItr    T.VYI.OK. 

being  enacted  at  tli;it  time  (in  onr  western  Lunlpr.  In  180S  lie 
was  appointed  a  lieutenant  in  the  United  States  infantry,  and 
subsequently  was  promoted  to  a  captaincy  for  his  efficient  ser- 
vices against  the  Indians.  Soon  after  the  declaration  of  war  in 
1812  he  was  placed  in  command  of  Kort  Harrison,  which  he  so 
gallantly  defended  with  a  handful  of  men  against  the  attack  of 
a  large  body  of  savages,  as  to  win  the  brevet  rank  of  major. 
So  familiar  did  he  become  with  the  Indian  character,  and  with 
the  mode  of  warfare  of  that  wily  foe,  that  his  services  at  the 
West  and  South  were  deemed  in(ii^penRable  in  the  subjugation 
and  removal  of  several  hostile  tribes.  While  effecting  these  de- 
sirable objects,  he  was  occasionally  rewarded  for  his  toils  and 
sacrifices  by  gradual  promotion,  and  in  IS-IU  attained  the  rank 
of  brigadier  general.  At  the  commencement  of  the  troubles 
with  Mexico,  in  1845,  he  was  ordered  to  occupy  a  position  ou 
the  American  side  of  the  Kio  Grande,  but  not  to  cross  that  river 
unless  attacked  by  the  Mexicans,  lie  was  not,  however,  allow- 
ed to  remain  long  in  repose:  the  enemy,  by  attacking  Fort 
Brown,  which  he  had  built  on  the  Kio  Grande,  opposite  Mata- 
moras,  soon  afforded  him  an  opportunity  to  display  his  skill  and 
valor,  and  gloriously  did  he  improve  it.  The  brilliant  battles 
of  Palo  Alto  and  Resaca  do  la  Paliua,  where  he  contended  suc- 
cessfully against  fearful  odds,  were  precursors  to  a  series  of 
victories  which  have  few  parallels  in  military  annals.  The 
attack  on  Matamoras,  the  storming  of  Monterey,  the  sanguinary 
contest  at  Buena  Vista,  and  the  numerous  skirmishes  in  which 
he  was  engajred,  excited  universal  admiration;  and  on  his  re- 
turn home,  after  so  signally  aiding  to  ''conquer  a  peace"  with 
Mexico,  he  was  everywhere  receivetl  with  the  most  gratifying 
demonsti'ations  of  respect  and  affection.  In  1848  General  Tay- 
lor received  the  nomination  of  the  Whig  party  for  the  office  of 
President  of  the  United  States,  and,  being  elected,  was  inagu- 
rated  the  year  following.  Uut  the  cares  and  responsil)ilitie8  of 
this  position  were  greater  than  his  constitution  could  endure, 
hardened  as  it  had  been  both  in  Indian  and  civilized  warfare. 
After  the  lapse  of  little  more  than  a  year  from  the  time  he  en- 
tered upon  his  new  career,  he  sunk  under  its  complicated  trials, 
and  his  noble  spirit  sought  refuge  in  a  more  congenial  sphere, 
July  9,  1860. 


MILLARD    FILLMORE. 


13T 


MILLARD  FILLMORE, 


THE  SUCCESSOK  OF  GEN.   TAYLOR,  AS  PRESIDENT, 

Was  born  at  Summer  Hill,  Cayuga  county,  New  York,  January 
7,  ISOO,  and  did  not  enjoy  the  advantages  of  any  other  edut-H- 
tion  than  what  he  derived  from  the  then  inefficient  common 
schools  of  the  county.  At  an  early  age  he  was  sent  into  the 
wilds  of  Livingston  county  to  learn  a  trade,  and  here  he  soon 
attracted  the  attention  of  a  friend,  who  placed  him  in  a  lawyer's 
office — thus  opening  a  new,  and  what  Avas  destined  to  be  a  most 


honorable  and   distiniiuis 


career.     Tp   1827  he  was  admitted 


138  MILI.AKU     I'lM.MORK. 

as  an  attorney,  and  two  years  afterwards  as  counselor  in  the 
Supreme  Court.  Soon  attracting  attention,  he  established  him- 
eeU"  lit  Jiiifl'alo,  where  his  talenta  and  business  habits  secured 
him  an  extended  practice. 

IIJH  first  entrance  into  public  life  was  in  January,  1829,  when 
he  took  his  seat  as  a  member  of  the  Assembly  from  Erie  county 
At  this  time  he  distinguished  himafelf  for  his  untiring  opposition 
to  imprisonment  for  debt,  and  to  this  are  the  people  indebted  in 
a  great  degree  for  the  expunging  of  this  rolic  of  barbarism  from 
the  statute  book.  Having  gained  a  high  reputation  for  legisla- 
tive capacity,  in  1833  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  National 
House  of  Representatives;  and  on  the  assenibling  of  tiie  Twen- 
ty-Seventh Congress,  to  which  he  was  re-ole<'ted  by  a  larger 
majority  than  was  ever  given  to  any  pcrnon  in  Iijk  (iistrict,  bo 
was  placed  in  the  arduous  position  of  Chairman  of  the  Commit- 
tee of  Ways  and  Means.  The  measures  which  he  brought  for- 
ward and  sustained  with  matchless  ability,  speedily  relieved  the 
tiovcrnment  from  its  existing  pecuniary  embarrassments.  In 
1847  he  was  elected  Comptroller  of  the  State  of  New  York  by 
a  larger  majority  than  had  ever  been  given  to  any  State 
ofiicft  for  many  years.  In  1848  he  was  selected  as  a  candidate 
for  Vice  T'residont,  (ieneral  Taylor  heading  the  ticket.  On  his 
flection  to  that  high  ofSce.  he  resigned  his  position  as  Comp- 
ti-olier,  and  entered  upon  his  duties  as  President  of  the  United 
States  Senate.  The  courtesy,  ability,  and  dignity  exhibited  by 
him,  while  presiding  over  the  deliborationa  of  that  body,  received 
j^eneral  commendation.  Upon  tiie  sudden  death  of  Ccn.  Taylor, 
he  ])ccame  President,  and  promptly  selected  a  cabinet,  distin- 
guished for  its  ability,  patriotism,  and  devotion  to  the  Unioi'  . 
and  possessing  in  an  eminent  degree  the  confidence  of  tl  a 
country. 

After  serving  out  the  constitutional  term,  Mr.  Fillmore  returno 
to  Buffalo,  and  again  resumed  those  pursuitn  which  had  prepare'?! 
the  way  to  the  elevated  position  from  which  he  had  just  retired. 
He  was  welcomed  home   Ity  troops  of  frirnds,   with    whom  he 
still  continues  to  enjoy  an  unabated  })0pulartty. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  by  every  aspiring  young  man, 
that  Mr.  Fillmore  is  entirely  indebted  to  his  own  exertions  foi 
his  success  in  life.  From  a  very  humble  origin,  he  attained  the 
highest  otiice  in  the  world,  climbing  the  rugged  steep  of  fame 
step  by  step,  with  indefatigable  industry  and  untiring  persever- 
ance, until  he  at  length  gained  the  summit,  where  he  is  loD^ 
likely  to  enjoy  his  well-earned  position. 


FRANK  !.!■?{    J'lERCE. 


139 


FRAXKIJN  PIERCE, 

THK   TWELFTH    PRESIDENT   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES, 

Was  born  at  Hillsborough,  N.  II.,  November  23,  1804,  and 
early  received  the  advantage  of  a  liberal  education.  After 
going  through  a  regular  collegiate  course  at  Bowdoin  college, 
which  he  entered  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  he  became  ft  law  student 


140  FRANKLI.V    PIEUCB. 

in  the  ofiBce  of  Jadf!;e  Woodbury,  at  Portsmouth,  whence  hp 
was  transferred  to  the  law  school  at  Northampton,  where  he 
remained  two  years,  and  then  finished  his  studies  with  Judge 
Parker  at  Amherst.  Although  his  rise  at  the  bar  was  not  rapid, 
by  degrees  he  attained  the  highest  rank  as  a  lawyer  and  advocate. 

In  1829  he  was  elected  to  represent  his  native  town  in  the 
State  Legislature,  where  he  served  four  years,  during  tlie  two 
last  of  which  he  held  the  speakership,  and  discharged  the  duties 
of  the  office  with  universal  satisfaction. 

From  1833  to  1837  he  represented  his  State  in  Congress,  and 
was  then  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate,  having  barely 
reached  the  requisite  age  to  qualify  him  for  a  seat  iu  ihat  body. 

In  1834  he  married  Miss  Jane  Means,  daughter  of  the  llev. 
Dr.  Appleton,  formerly  President  of  Bowdoin  college — soon 
after  which,  he  removed  to  Concord,  where  he  still  holds  a 
residence.  He  was  re-elected  at  the  expiration  of  his  Senatorial 
term,  but  resigned  his  seat  the  year  following,  for  the  purpose 
of  devoting  himself  exclusively  to  his  legal  business,  which 
had  become  so  extensive  as  to  require  all  his  attention. 

In  1846  he  declined  the  office  of  Attorney-General,  tendered 
him  by  President  Polk;  but  when  the  war  with  Mexico  broke 
out,  he  was  active  in  raising  the  New  England  regiment  of 
volunteers;  and  afterwai-ds  accepted  the  commission  of  Briga- 
dier General,  with  wliieh  he  at  once  repaired  to  the  field  of  op- 
erations, where  he  distinguished  himself  in  several  hard-fought 
battles.  At  Cerro-Gordo  and  Chapultapec  he  displayed  an 
ardor  in  his  country's  cause  which  extorted  praise  from  his 
most  inveterate  political  opponents ;  and  on  his  return  home  he 
was  everywhere  received  with  gratifying  evidences  that  his 
services  were  held  in  grateful  remembrance  by  the  people. 

At  the  Democratic  Convention  held  in  Baltimore  in  18'j2,  after 
trying  in  vain  to  concentrate  their  votes  on  a  more  prominent 
candidate,  that  body  unexpectedly  nominated  General  Pierce 
for  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  to  which  he  was 
elected  by  an  unprecedented  majority  over  his  rival.  General 
gcott — receiving  254  votes  out  of  296.  He  was  duly  inaugurated 
on  the  4th  of  March,  1853,  and  his  administration  was  more 
remarkable  for  its  futile  attempts  to  reconcile  conflicting  inter 
ests,  than  for  the  achievement  of  any  particular  measure  of 
great  public  utility.  However,  it  will  better  become  his  future 
than  his  present  biographer  to  "speak  of  him  as  he  is ;  noi 
aught  extenuate,  nor  aught  set  down  in  malice." 


JAWES  BfeCHAKAX, 


141 


JAMES    BUCHANAN, 

THIRTKENTH    PRESIDENT    OF    THE   UNITED   STATES. 

For  the  high  position  he  so  long  maintained  in  the  polit- 
ical affairs  of  this  country,  Mi-.  Buchanan  is  not  alone  indebted 
to  his  early  and  thorough  education,  but  his  entire  devotion  to 
whatever  he  undertook,  and  his  perseverance  in  eurmounting 


142  JAMKS     BUCUANAK. 

obstacles  which  would  have  intimidated  less  determined  minds, 
had  a  large  share  in  promoting  his  fidvancemcnt.  He  is  of 
Irish  parentage,  and  was  born  at  Stony  Batter,  Krauklin  county, 
Pa.,  April  23,  1791.  At  the  age  of  seven  years  he  removed 
with  his  father's  family  to  Mcrcersburg,  and  there  received  an 
education  that  fitted  him  for  entering  l)ickin8on  college  in  1805, 
where  he  graduated  two  years  afterwards  with  the  highest  hon- 
ors. He  then  studied  law  with  James  Hopliins,  of  Lancaster, 
and  in  1812  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  at  which  he  attained  a 
high  rank  and  commanded  un  extensive  practice. 

In  1814  he  commenced  political  life  sus  a  member  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania fc'tate  Legislature,  and  in  1820  was  sent  as  a  represent- 
ative to  Congress,  where  he  remained  for  ten  years — at  the  ex 
piration  of  which,  ho  declined  a  re  nomination. 

In  1831  he  was  appointed  minister  to  Russia  by  President 
.fackson,  of  whom  he  was  always  the  consistent  friend  and  sup- 
porter, and  he  negotiated  a  commercial  treaty  which  proved  of 
great  advantage  to  American  commerce. 

In  December,  1834,  having  been  elected  to  the  United  States 
Senate,  ho  took  his  seat  in  tliat  body,  and  continued  one  of  its 
most  efficient  members  until  1845,  when  he  accepted  the  office 
of  Secretary  of  State  under  Mr.  Polk.  lie  held  tiiis  responsible 
place  until  the  expiration  of  Mr.  Polk's  term  of  service,  when 
he  returned  home  to  repose  awhile.  Put  lie  did  not  by  any 
means  become  an  idle  spectator  in  passing  events:  his  letters 
and  speeches  show  that  ho  was  no  less  vigilant  as  a  private 
v^itizen,  than  as  a  counselor  in  the  Cabinet,  or  a  representa- 
tive and  senator  in  Congress. 

On  the  accession  of  Mr.  Pierce  to  the  Presidency,  in  1853, 
Mr.  Bi«hanan  was  appointed  minister  to  England,  with  which 
country  questions  were  then  pending  that  required  great  pru- 
dence and  discrimination  for  their  satisfrctory  adjustment.  In 
his  intercourse  with  the  British  diplomatists  he  was  not  only 
discreet,  but  displayed  sound  sense,  courtly  forbearance,  a  just 
assertion  of  our  rights,  and  the  true  dignity  of  the  American 
character.  So  entirely  unexceptionable  was  his  whole  course 
while  abroad,  that  on  his  return  to  this  country,  in  April,  185G 
— he  landed  in  New  York  on  the  sixty-fifth  anniversary  of  his 
birth-day — he  was  received  with  an  enthusiasm,  seldom  accorded 
to  political  men. 

In  June,  1856,  Mr.  Buchanan  was  nominated  by  the  Demo- 
cratic Convention  at  Cincinnati  as  a  candidate  for  the  Presi- 
dency; and  although  there  were  powerful  political  elements 
arrayed  against  him  in  the  succeeding  campaign,  he  was  tri- 
umphantly elected  to  that  responsible  and  honorable  office. 

His  administration  was  attended  with  unusual  difficulties — 
difficulties  which  it  would  seem  he  was  not  fully  able  to  meet. 


J^ilBS     BUCHANAN.  148 

The  troubles  in  Kansas,  arieing  from  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri 
Compromise,  and  the  opposition  made  to  his  views  touching  the 
admission  of  Kansas  with  tlie  Lecompton  Constitution,  by  the 
Douglas  wing  of  the  Democratic  party,  were  matters  ol  sore 
vexation  to  him,  and  tended  greatly  to  unpopularize  the  iatter 
part  of  his  public  life.  But  these  were  considerations  of  small 
moment  as  compared  to  the  embarrassment  which  the  (Jovera- 
ment  sufl'ered  in  consequence  of  the  treacherous  intrigues  of 
some  of  the  members  of  his  Cabinet,  liis  Setro:a'.y  of  Wa<- 
and  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  afterwards  so  conspicuuus  in  ti:c 
great  Kebellion,  were  particularly  instrumental  in  crippling  tiic 
pecuniar}'  and  military  resources  of  the  country,  and  turning 
them  to  the  benefit  of  the  South.  When  treason  began  to  as- 
sume a  threatening  attitude  Buchanan  declared  against  the  right 
of  secession,  but  at  the  same  time  denied  the  right  of  coercion 
by  the  Government.  This,  perhaps,  is  the  most  inconsistent, 
inexplicable  position  ever  taken  by  any  of  the  Nation's  chief 
rulers.  On  the  4lh  of  March,  1861,  Mr.  Buchanan  retired  from 
the  Presidency,  leaving  to  his  successor  the  highly  perplexing 
task  of  setting  to  rights  the  machinery  of  a  government  crip- 
pled and  weakened  in  all  its  parts,  and  fully  ripe  for  the  most 
gigantic  civil  war  known  to  history. 

it  was,  at  one  time,  presumed  by  many  that  Air.  Buchanan 
was  not  only  encouraging  the  rebellion  by  his  weak,  indecisive 
policy  towards  armed  traitors,  and  by  winking  at  the  thieving 
proceedings  of  some  of  his  Cabinet  officers,  but  that  he  w.ik 
himself  leagued  with  the  leaders  of  the  secession  movement;. 
and  secretly  acted  in  unison  with  them. 

While  it  is  true  that  the  unhindered  appropriation  of  millions 
of  treasure  to  the  furtherance  of  rebellious  schemes,  and  the 
large  deposit  of  choice  arms  made  in  Southern  arsenals,  would 
indicate  an  affiliation  of  the  President  with  the  chief  rebels  ui 
the  South,  yet  there  has  never  been  adduced  any  direct  proof 
of  such  affiliation;  and  nothing  said  or  done  by  Jlr.  Buchanan 
since  his  retirement  shows  active  sympathy  with  the  rebellion 
There  is,  however,  evidence  on  every  hand  of  weakness — ay 
element  of  character  he  never  manifested  prior  to  his  Executive 
career — of  thatnegative  disposition  which  will,  under  circumstaii- 
ees  such  as  surroundea  him  during  the  latter  part  of  his  admin- 
istration, wholly  unfit  a  man  for  the  performance  of  his  dutie.-. 

The  subject  of  the  present  sketch  would,  doubtless,  have  been 
A  very  good  Executive  at  a  period  when  the  country  Avas  uodi>- 
turbed  by  sectional  agitation;  at  a  time  when  there  were  no 
conflicting  local  interests  to  stir  up  and  embitter  South  against 
North.  But  the  exigencies  of  the  period  during  which  he  sat 
at  the  helm  of  state  demanded  a  man  who  could  take  hold  with 
a  strong  hand ;  a  man  of  Jacksonian   character,  who,  with  the 


144  JAMES     nrcilANAN. 

loftiest  political  intcprity  and  must  iltvoteil  loviiUy,  combined  a 
Napoleonic  will;  a  man  who,  foreseeing  the  certain  results  of 
the  pursuit  of  a  conciliatory  course  with  rebellion,  would  have 
i;iven  it  a  decisive  blow  in  its  vc>ry  inl'arit-y. 

But  it  seems  that  Mr.  Muchanan  proposed  to  JomI  with  seces- 
eionists  as  an  over-fond,  weak-minded  mother  deal^  with  a  spoiled 
child — scoldina;  and  coaxini;  alternately,  satisfied  to  exhibit  her 
authority  by  the  former,  and  conlidctit  that  she  can  reform  her 
fondlinj;;  by  the  latter.  Perhaps  lie  may  be  partially  excused  by 
some  in  consideration  of  the  delit  of  firatitudc  he  lelc  ho  owed 
;o  the  iSouthern  States,  for  the  valuable  services  ihey  had  ren- 
dered him  in  liis  election.  l>ut  a  truly  great  executive  never 
allows  his  feelinjrs  to  interfere  with  tiio  performance  of  duty. 
The  life  of  the  nation  was  in  jeopardy;  that  j:rand  superstruc- 
ture, the  American  Government,  wliose  foundation  stones  had 
been  cemented  by  the  sacred  blood  of  the  lievolutionary  sires, 
whose  columns  had  been  n-ared  by  the  wisest,  purest  statesmen 
the  world  ever  saw,  and  al'out  whose  lolty  dome  the  brightest 
seraphs  of  Heaven  chanted  their  sweetest  lays — that  great  tem- 
ple around  which  clustered  the  hopes  of  the  liberty  loving  world, 
was  threatened  with  destruction,  and  there  can  hardly  be  any 
excuse  for  him  who,  having  the  [)ower  to  save,  refused  to  adopt 
such  decisive  measures  as  were  essential  to  salvation. 

It  is  true  that  the  Southern  people  had  acted  a  very  important 
part  in  the  election  of  Mr.  Buchanan,  ))ut  it  is  very  far  from 
being  true  that  a  majority  of  these  people  were  in  favor  of  60- 
cession.  The  great  Democratic  party  was  not  a  party  of  traitors, 
either  South  or  North.  The  masses  of  the  people  of  the  South- 
ern States  were  by  no  means  desirous  of  severing  their  connec- 
tion with  the  (jovcrnment  of  the  United  States,  as  was  amply 
"testified  in  the  overwhelming  I'nion  majorities  given  in  North 
Carolina,  Tennessee,  and  otiier  Southern  States,  even  after  South 
Carolina  had  sloughed  off,  and  all  the  preliminary  steps  had  been 
taken  by  the  leading  secessionists  Icnvard  the  formation  of  a 
Southern  Confederacy.  And  tlicre  is  no  doubt  that  had  Mr. 
I)U(dianan  taken  hold  of  the  rebellion,  while  it  was  in  the  larva, 
with  that  determination  to  crush  it  wliich  the  groat  Jackson  ex- 
hibittni  when  South  ("arolina  proposed  her  scheme  of  nullifica- 
tion, it  had  never  seen  its  winged  existence. 

Huchanan's  administration,  in  one  respect,  maj'  possibly  yet 
be  productive  of  good,  in  that  it  may  serve  to  impress  the  people 
■with  the  importance  of  selecting  a  man  for  the  chief  magistracy 
who  Joves  the  xight  and  dares  to  do  it. 


ABRAHAM  LIXCOLN. 


145 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLX, 

FOURTEENTH  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 


Was  born  in  Hardin  county,  Kentucky,  February  12th,  1809. 
The  record  of  his  boyhood  and  youth,  so  far  as  we  have  been 
able  to  trace  it,  is  not  distinguished  by  anything  more  remarka- 
ble than  the  usual  experience  of  children  of  pioneers  in  a  new 
country.  In  1816  he  removed  with  his  parents  to  what  is  now 
Spencer  county,  Indiana.     Here  he  enjoyad  the  advantages  of  a 

10 


146  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

little  schooling — less  than  a  year,  however,  in  all.  Whatever 
else  he  afterward  learned  from  books  was  without  tlie  aid  of  the 
schoolmaster — the  result  of  his  ov/n  energy  and  indomitable  per- 
severence. 

In  1832  he  served  in  the  Blackhawk  war,  and  on  his  return 
from  that  service,  was  nominated  for  the  Illinois  Legislature 
from  the  connty  of  !Macon.  In  1834  he  was  elected  to  the  Leg- 
islature, and  re-elected  in  1836,  1838,  and  1840.  While  in  the 
Legislature  he  placed  himself  on  record  against  slavery,  and  it  is 
but  just  to  say  that  the  principles  which  actuated  him  then  are 
the  moving  principles  of  the  great  party  he  to-day  represents,  as 
the  Executive  of  the* Nation. 

For  many  years  IMr.  Lincoln  was  a  prominent  leader  of  the 
Whig  party  in  Illinois,  and  was  on  the  electoral  ticket  in  several 
Presidential  campaigns.  In  1844  he  canvassed  the  entire  State 
for  Henry  Clay,  of  whom  he  was  a  sincere  and  enthusiastic 
friend,  and  exerted  himself  powerfully  for  the  favorite  of  his 
party.  In  1846  he  Avas  elected  to  Congress,  and  took  his  seat  on 
the  first  ^londay  in  December,  1847,  the  only  Whig  representa- 
tive from  his  [State. 

In  November,  1800,  he  was  elected  President  of  tiie  United 
States  by  the  party  known  as  Republicans. 

On  the  11th  of  February,  1801,  he  left  his  home  in  Spring- 
field, Illinois,  and  proceeded  to  Washington,  passing  en  ro^ite 
the  cities  of  Toledo,  Indianapolis,  Cincinnati,  Columbus,  Steu- 
benville,  Pittsburg,  Cleveland,  Buffalo,  Albany,  Poughkeepsie, 
New  York,  Trenton,  Philadelphia,  llarrisburg,  and  Baltimore, 
at  all  of  which  places,  except  the  last,  he  was  received  with 
great  cordiality,  and  addressed  the  people.  At  Baltimore  a  plot 
had  been  formed  to  assassinate  him;  and  in  this  affair  it  seems 
that  some  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  of  that  place  were 
implicated.  But  Mr.  Lincoln,  by  prompt,  shrewd  management, 
reached  Washington  uninjured,  and  on  the  4th  of  March,  ISGl, 
was  duly  inaugurated;  and  proceeded  upon  the  duties  of  his  office, 
notwithstanding  the  threats  of  Baltimoreans  that  he  never  should 
be  installed.  In  his  inaugural  address,  in  view  of  the  threaten- 
ing attitude  assumed  by  some  of  the  Southern  States,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  accession  of  a  Republican  administration,  after 
declaring  that  there  never  had  been  any  just  cause  for  the  ap- 
prehension that  such  an  administration  would  encroach  upon 
the  constitutional  rights  of  any  State,  he  said  that  he  had  "no 
purpose,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  interfere  with  the  institution 
of  slavery  in  the  States  where  it  existed;  that  he,  as  well  as 
every  member  of  Congre.S3,  was  sworn  trf-  support  the  whole 
Constitution,  one  of  the  provisions  of  which  is,  that  "no  person 
held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  State,  under  the  laws  thereof, 
escaping  into  another,  shall,  in  consequence  of  any  law  or  reg- 


V  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  147 

ulation  therein,  be  discharged  from  such  service  or  labor,  but 
shall  be  delivered  up  on  claim  of  the  party  to  whom  such  ser- 
vice or  labor  may  be  due;  "  that  he  took  his  oath  to  support  the 
Constitution  without  any  mental  reservation;  that  while  he  did 
not  then  choose  to  specify  particular  acts  of  Congress  as  proper 
to  be  enforced,  he  did  suggest  that  it  would  be  much  safer  for 
all,  both  in  official  and  private  stations,  to  conform  to  and  abide 
by  all  those  acts  which  stand  unrepealed,  than  to  violate  any  of 
them,  trusting  to  find  impunity  in  having  them  held  to  be  uncon- 
stitutional ;  that  he  held  that  in  the  contemplation  of  universal 
law  and  of  the  Constitution,  the  union  of  the  States  is  perpet- 
ual; that  no  State  could,  upon  its  own  mere  motion,  get  out  of 
Jhe  Union;  that  acts  of  violence  within  any  State  or  States 
against  the  authority  of  the  United  States  are  insurrectionary 
or  revolutionary,  and  that  he  should,  as  the  Constitution  ex- 
pressly enjoined  upon  him,  take  care  that  the  laws  of  the  Union 
should  be  executed  in  all  the  States;  that  while  he  should  per- 
form this  duty  perfectly,  so  far  as  practicable,  unless  restrained 
by  his  rightful  masters,  the  American  people,  he  trusted  the 
declaration  so  to  do  would  not  be  regarded  as  a  menace,  but 
only  as  the  express  purpose  of  the  Union  to  maintain  itself 

The  inaugural  address,  while  considered  as  clear  and  explicit 
by  many,  was  regarded  as  very  obscure  and  unsatisfactory  by 
others,  (the  people  of  the  South,)  and  on  the  13th  of  April, 
1861,  Messrs.  Preston,  Stuart  and  Kandolph,  appointed  hj  the 
Virginia  Convention,  were  formally  received  by  the  President, 
and  presented  resolutions  requesting  that,  inasmuch  as  "great 
uncertainty  prevailed  in  the  public  mind  as  to  the  policy"  to  be 
pursued  by  the  Federal  Executive,  he  should  communicate  to 
the  Convention  the  course  he  intended  to  take  in  regard  to  the 
"  Confederate  States." 

To  this  request,  the  President  replied  that,  while  he  was 
sorry  that  dangerous  uncertainty  should  exist  respecting  his 
mode  of  procedure  with  the  seceded  States,  he  could  give  no 
clearer  exposition  of  his  policy  than  was  given  in  his  inaugural 
address,  a  careful  consideration  of  which  he  recommended  to 
the  Virginia  Convention. 

Two  days  after  this,  Fort  Sumpter  having  been  reduced  by 
the  Confederate  Government,  and  other  demonstrations^  of  a 
revolutionary  character  having  been  made,  the  President  issued 
a  proclamation  calling  for  75,000  volunteers,  for  three  months, 
to  suppress  the  rebellion,  and  summoned  Congress  to  assemble 
in  extraordinary  session.  The  call  was  heartily  responded  to, 
and  in  a  few  days  a  vastly  greater  number  than  had  been  re- 
quested, offered  themselves  to  their  country.  Meantime  Wash- 
ington was  placed  in  a  state  of  defence.  Shortly  after  the'com- 
mencementof  hostilities  a  blockade  of  all  the  Southern  porta 


148  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

was  declared.  This  was  directly  followed  by  a  blockade  of 
Virginia  and  North  Carolina.  On  the  3d  of  May,  IS61,  tho 
President  issued  a  call  for  42,034  additional  volunteers,  for  the 
term  of  three  years.  Congress  having  assembled,  he  addressed 
a  message  to  that  body,  asking  that  at  least  400. OUU  men  and 
$400,000,000  be  placed  at  his  control,  that  the  work  of  crushing 
the  rebellion  might  be  expedited.  Congress  readily  complied, 
granting  more  men  and  money  than  had  been  asked. 

On  the  I6th  of  August,  ISGl,  the  President  issued  a  proclama- 
tion prohibiting  all  commercial  intercourse  between  the  loyal 
and  seceded  States.  In  the  latter  part  of  August,  he  modified 
a  proclamation  issued  by  Gen.  Fremont,  which  declared  martial 
law  in  the  State  of  Missouri,  ordering  the  confiscation  of  th§ 
property  of  disloyal  persons,  and  declaring  their  slaves  free. 
The  two  latter  of  these  measures  Mr.  Lincoln  declared  void. 
For  this  act  he  was  blamed  by  many  of  his  own  party  at  tho 
time. 

Passing  some  other  acts  of  less  importance,  v/e  next  notice 
the  message  addressed  to  Congress  on  the  Gth  of  ]\Iarch,  1862, 
by  the  President,  recommending  that  the  Government  co-opcrato 
with  any  State  desiring  a  gradual  emancipition  of  the  slaves,  by 
affording  it  such  pecuniary  aid  as  would  enable  it  to  "compen- 
sate for  the  inconveniences,  public  and  private,  produced  by 
such  change  of  system."  This  message  was  hailed  by  the  radi- 
cal anti-slavery  party  of  the  country  as  the  initiatory  step  to- 
ward a  final  and  total  abolition  of  slavery;  by  conservative 
Union  men,  with  indifference,  and  by  the  secessionists  as  a  hos- 
tile encroachment  upon  State  rights. 

On  the  11th  of  March,  1862,  Mr.  Lincoln  assumed  command 
of  the  Army  and  Navy  of  the  United  States,  ordering  a  general 
movement  of  both,  and  confining  General  McClellan  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  Department  of  tho  Potomac. 

April  16th,  1862,  he  approved  and  signed  an  act  of  Congress, 
abolishing  the  institution  of  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia, 
which  act  "recognized  and  practically  applied"  the  principles 
of  compensation  and  colonization. 

During  the  month  of  May,  the  President  issued  two  procla- 
mations, the  one  declaring  tho  ports  of  Port  Poyal,  Beaufort, 
and  New  Orleans  open  for  trade,  the  other  repudiating  an  order 
issued  by  Gen.  Hunter,  emancipating  all  the  slaves  in  Georgia, 
Florida  and  South  Carolina.  This  act  also  produced  some  dis- 
satisfaction. During  the  years  1862-1863,  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
actively  employed  in  calling  out  and  furnishing  troops,  and 
making  important  changes  in  the  organization  of  the  army.  It 
was  also  during  this  period  that  he  issued  his  general  cmanci- 
tion  proclamations,  the  first  on  the  22d  day  of  September,  1862, 
declaring  that  all  slaves  held  in  any  State,  or  part  of  a  State, 


ABKAHAil   LINCOLN.  149 

found  in  actual  rebellion  against  the  authority  of  the  United 
States  on  the  1st  day  of  January,  1863,  should  then  and  forever 
thereafter  be  free;  the  second,  on  the  1st  of  January,  1863,  de- 
claring that,  in  accordance  with  the  first  proclamation,  slavery 
is  abolished  in  all  the  States  and  counties  then  in  armed  re- 
bellion against  the  Government. 

These  measures,  while  they  greatly  unpopularized  the  Presi- 
dent with  certain  parties  in  the  Northern  and  Southern  Border 
States,  were  regared  as  the  exponents  of  the  true  policy  by  the 
radicals.  His  suspension  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  in  cer- 
tain cases,  September  15th,  1863,  also  produced  considerable 
stir  in  political  circles. 

At  the  Republican  Convention  which  met  at  Baltimore  in  Jan- 
uary, 1864,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  re-nominated  for  the  Presidency  of 
the  United  States. 

We  have  occupied  more  space  in  this  than  in  any  of  the  fore- 
going biographical  sketches  for  the  reason  that  the  circumstances 
surrounding  Mr.  Lincoln's  administration  are,  to  the  people,  of 
more  importance  than  those  of  any  preceding  administration, 
and  not  from  any  desire  to  render  peculiarly  conspicuous  the 
subject  of  the  present  sketch. 

THE  president's  DEDICATORY  ADDRESS  AT  GETTYSBURG. 

On  the  19th  of  November,  1863,  the  President  participated  in 
the  solemn  and  imposing  ceremonies  incident  to  the  consecra- 
tion of  the  National  Cemetery  at  Gettysburg.  Arriving  in  the 
town  on  the  previous  evening,  he  was  the  recipient  of  a  delight- 
ful serenade,  which  he  acknowledged  in  a  brief  speech.  On  the 
nest  day  he  delivered  the  following  beautiful  dedicatory  address, 
which  may  be  regarded  as  a  fair  specimen  of  his  eloquence: 

"  Four-ecore  and  seven  years  ago  our  fathers  brought  forth 
upon  this  continent  a  new  nation,  conceived  in  liberty,  and  dedi- 
cated to  the  proposition  that  all  men  are  created  equal.  Now 
we  are  engaged  in  a  great  civil  war,  testing  whether  that  nation, 
or  any  nation  so  conceived  and  so  dedicated,  can  long  endure. 
We  are  met  on  a  great  battle  field  of  that  war.  We  are  met  to 
dedicate  a  portion  of  it  as  a  last  resting-place  of  those  who  here 
gave  their  lives  that  that  nation  might  live.  It  is  altogether 
fitting  and  proper  that  we  should  do  this. 

"  But  in  a  larger  sense  we  can  not  dedicate,  we  can  not  conse- 
crate, we  can  not  hallow  this  ground.  The  brave  men,  living 
and  dead,  who  struggled  here,  have  consecrated  it  far  above  our 
power  to  add  or  detract.  The  world  will  little  note,  nor  long 
remember  what  we  say  here,  but  it  can  never  forget  what  they 
did  here.     It  is  for  us,  the  living,  rather  to  be  dedicated  here  to 


150  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

the  unflnishcd  work  that  they  have  thus  far  so  nobly  carried  on. 
It  is  rather  for  us  to  be  here  dedicated  to  the  great  task  remain- 
ing before  us — that  from  these  honored  dead,  we  take  increased 
devotion  to  tlie  cause  for  which  they  here  gave  the  last  full 
measure  of  devotion, — that  we  here  highly  resolve  that  the  dead 
shall  not  have  died  in  vain,  that  the  nation  shall,  under  God, 
have  a  new  birth  of  freedom,  and  that  the  government  of  the 
people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people,  shall  not  perish  from 
the  earth." 


JOHN    CHARLES    FUEMOXT. 


151 


JOHN  CHARLEri    FREMONT, 

THE   REPUBLICAN     CANDIDATE   FOR   PRESIDENT. 

Several  biographies  of  this  accomplished  mathematician  and 
indomitable  explorer  have  been  issued  since  he  was  nominated 
for  the  Presidency  by  the  "National  People's  Convention"  at 
Philadelphia.  From  these  we  learn  that  he  is  the  son  of  a 
French  gentleman  of  the  same  name,  who,  not  long  after  his 
arrival  in  this  country,  married  Mrs.  Ann  Beverly  Whiting,  of 
Gloucester  county,  Va.     The  "first  fruit"  of  this  union  was  the 


152  JOHN  CHAKLES  FREMONT. 

eubject  of  this  sketch,  wlio  was  born  at  Savannah,  (Ja.,  .lanuary 
•21,  1813.  Five  years  after  tliis  event,  when  Mr.  Freiiiont  was 
makinjrarranjxcments  to  return  to  France  with  his  family,  he 
huddonly  died,  Icavini^  his  widow,  with  two  sons  and  a  daughter, 
but  ill  provided  for  in  a  pecuniary  view.  "  Howcd  down,  but 
nut  discouraged,"  she  gathered  her  scanty  resources  together, 
and  settled  in  Charleston,  S.  C,  where,  at  the  age  ()f  tlnrteen, 
("liarles  was  taken  into  the  office  of  John  W.  Mitchell,  Esq., 
who,  actuated  by  benevolent  motives,  afterwards  had  him  quali- 
lied  for  tl;e  legal  profession;  but  his  tastes  did  not  lie  in  that 
channel:  a  thorough  knowledge  of  mathematics  seemed  to  be 
the  all-absorbing  oi)ject  of  his  ambition,  and  his  devoted  appli- 
cation to  this  science  was  unquestionably  the  means  of  his  sac- 
cess  in  after-life. 

He  entered  the  naval  service  in  1833  as  a  professor  of  mathe- 
matics; but  not  long  afterwards  was  transferred  to  the  corps  of 
topographical  engineers,  with  the  rank  of  second  lieutenant. 
In  conjunction  with  the'late  Captain  AVilliams,  he  was  engajjed 
in  several  important  national  surveys,  which  led  to  his  being 
afterwards  associated  with  Mr.  Nicholet,  of  St.  Louis,  in  the 
exploration  and  survey  of  the  vast  region  north  of  the  Missouri 
and  west  of  the  Mississippi. 

After  returning  to  Washington  city,  and  while  engaged  in 
preparing  his  report  and  maps  of  this  last  survey,  he  became 
acquainted  with  Miss  Jessie  Benton,  daughter  of  the  distin- 
gui.-^hed  Senator,  to  whom  he  was  married  in  1841. 
'  In  Mav,  1842,  he  set  out  on  the  first  of  his  three  great  ex- 
ploring expeditions,  the  developments  of  which  have  been  of 
incalculable  importance,  not  only  to  this  country,  but  to  the 
whole  civilized  world.  This  resulted  in  a  thorough  exploration 
of  the  famous  South  Pass  across  the  Kocky  Mountains,  on  the 
hiirhcst  peak  of  which  the  American  flag  was  planted  for  the 
first  time;  the  second,  in  1843,  furnished  accurate  information 
reirarding  the  Great  Salt  Lake,  the  great  interior  basin  of  Utah, 
the  mountain  range  of  th«  Sierra  Nevada,  and  the  golden  re- 
gions of  California;  and  the  third,  in  1845,  among  other  advan- 
tages, secured  the  possession  of  the  last  named  territory,  of 
which  Col.  Fremont  became,  in  1846,  the  first  governor  and 
military  commander,  and  in  which  Avas  subsequently  elected  the 
first  United  States  Senator  after  its  admission  as  a  State. 

In  1848,  a  court-martial  having  found  him  technically  guilty 
of  some  frivolous  charges  preferred  by  Gen.  Kearney,  he  per- 
sisted in  relinquishing  his  military  position,  notwithstanding 
President  Polk  ofiered  him  a  new  commission  of  the  same  grade. 
]5ut  this  did  not  dampen  his  spirit  of  adventure:  relying  upon 
his  own  means  and  the  aid  of  friends,  he   has  since  been  as 


JOHN    CI!Ai;i.i:S    FKIOKiNT.  153 

zealously  en,:::agcd  as  ever  in  bringini;;  to  li.irht  the  hidden  re- 
sources of  our  comparatively  inaccessible  regions. 

At  the  commencement  of  tiie  great  Rebellion,  Fremont  stood 
out  boldly  for  the  Union,  and  his  high  qualifications  as  a  com- 
mander, and  his  thorough  knowledge  of  the  West,  secured  to 
him  the  command  of  the  Western  Department  of  the  land  and 
naval  forces  of  the  United  States.  This  office  was  assigned  him 
July  9,  1861.  Inspired  by  that  ardor  and  propelled  by  that 
energy  which  have  ever  marked  his  career,  he  proceeded  at 
once  to  the  organization  of  his  department,  and  projected  a 
campaign,  which,  if  he  had  been  allowed  to  carry  forward, 
would  doubtless  have  reflected  additional  lustre  upon  his  al- 
ready brilliant  reputation.  But,  unfortunately  for  him,  perhaps 
for  the  country,  he  was,  upon  charges  of  mismanagement  which 
were  never  well  sustained,  removed  from  his  command,  Nov.  2, 
1861.  On  the  31st  of  May,  1864,  he  was  again  nominated  for 
the  Presidency  by  a  convention  of  Radical  Republicans  opposed 
to  the  administration  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  This  nomination  he  ac- 
cepted with  the  understanding  that  if  the  Republican  conven- 
tion at  Baltimore  should  repudiate  Mr.  Lincoln,  he  should  with- 
draw from  the  canvass.  Whether  Fremont's  motive  in  taking 
ihis  step  was  patriotic,  or  whether  it  was  personal,  we,  of  course, 
have  no  accurate  means  of  determining;  but  certain  we  are  that 
his  acceptance  of  the  Cleveland  nomination  was  regarded  by 
many  of  his  old  political  friends  as  a  very  unfortunate  affair. 

The  platform  of  principles  upon  which  he  was  nominated  is 
given  on  another  page  of  this  work. 

The  following  passage  from  Frcmont'v  letter  of  acceptance, 
after  his  nomination  for  the  Presidency  in  1856,  is  a  good  ex- 
ample of  his  style  in  composition: 

New  York,  July  8,  1856. 
Gentlemen: — You  call  me  to  a  high  responsibility  by  placing 
me  in  the  van  of  a  great  movement  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  who,  without  regard  to  past  differences,  are  united  in  a 
common  effort  to  bring  back  the  action  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment to  the  principles  of  Washington  and  Jefferson.  Compre- 
hending the  magnitude  of  the  trust  which  they  have  declared 
themselves  willing  to  place  in  my  hands,  and  deeply  sensible  of 
the  honor  which  their  unreserved  confidence,  in  this  threatening 
position  of  the  public  afRiirs  implies,  I  feel  that  I  can  not  better 
respond  than  by  a  sincere  declaration  that,  in  the  event  of  my 
election  to  the  Presidency,  I  should  enter  upon  the  execution 
of  its  duties  with  a  single  determination  to  promote  the  good  of 
the  whole  country,  and  to  direct  solely  to  this  end  all  the  powers 
of  the  Government,  irrespective  of  party  issues  and  regardless 


154  JOHN'    CHAi'M.KS     KI;i:.\IO.VT. 

of  sectional  strifes.  The  declaration  cf  principles  embodied  in 
the  resolves  of  your  Convention  expresses  the  sentiments  in 
which  I  have  been  educated,  and  which  have  been  ripened  into 
convictions  by  personal  observation  and  experience.  With  this 
declaration  and  avowal,  1  think  it  necessary  to  revert  to  only 
two  of  the  subjects  embraced  in  those  resolutions,  and  to  these 
onlv,  because  events  have  surrounded  them  with  grave  and  crit- 
ical circumstances,  and  given  to  them  especial  importance. 


MAJOR  GEXERAL   GEORGE  D.  M  CLELLAN'. 


155 


MAJOR  GENERAL  GEORGE  B.  McCLELLAN, 

"Was  born  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  December  3,  1826.  His 
father,  Dr.  George  McCIellan,  for  many  years  one  of  the  pro- 
fessors of  Jefferson  Medical  College,  was  a  distinguished  physi- 
cian and  surgeon.  The  son  was,  for  a  short  season,  a  student 
at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he 
left  this  institution  and  entered  West  Point. 

In  1846  he  graduated  at  the  latter  place,  second  in  his  class, 
and  entered  the  army  as  Brevet  Second  Lieutenant  of  Engin- 
eers. He  was  immediately  afterwards  ordered  to  Mexico  as 
Lieutenant  of  Sappers,  Miners,  and  Pontooniers.     During  tho 


156  MAJOE  GENERAL  GEORGE  B.  Jl'CLEI.I.AX. 

Mexican  war  ho  distin;:;uished  himself  on  several  occasions  as  a 
pallant  and  efficient  ufficer,  and  was,  in  May,  1848,  made  l>revet 
Captain. 

After  peace  was  made  with  Mexico  he  Avas  ordered  to  AVest 
I'oint,  where  he  assumed  the  supervision  of  field  labors  and 
Ijccame  instructor  of  the  bayonet  exercise.  AVhilo  thus  em- 
ployed ho  translated  a  ''Manual  of  Bayonet  Exercise"  from 
the  French.  In  1851  he  was  sent  to  superintend  the  construc- 
tion of  Fort  Delaware,  and  in  the  year  following  accompanied 
("apt.  R.  B.  ^larcy  (now  his  father-in-law)  on  an  expedition  to 
fxplorc  the  Ivcd  river. 

He  was  appointed  to  accompany  Gen.  Persifer  F.  Smith,  as 
Senior  Engineer,  to  Texas,  to  survey  the  rivers  and  harbors  of 
that  State,  in  September  of  the  same  year. 

In  the  spring  following  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  survey 
of  a  northern  route  for  a  railroad  to  the  Pacitic,  and  was  subse- 
quently detailed  for  the  examination  of  the  western  part  of  the 
proposed  line.  This  duty  was  performed  in  a  superior  manner, 
for  which  a  high  compliment  was  bestowed  upon  him  by  the 
Secretary  of  Wax*.  Soon  after  this  he  was  detailed  to  visit  the 
principal  railway  lines  in  the  United  States,  and  to  thoroughly 
investigate  the  railroad  sj'stem  of  the  country,  with  a  view  of 
obtaining  such  information  as  would  be  of  service  in  the  suc- 
cessful operation  of  the  Pacific  railroad.  A  full  report  of  his 
proceedings  was  published  in  November,  1854. 

The  next  public  service  required  of  him  was  the  performance 
of  a  secret  mission  to  the  West  Indies,  which  resulted  in  the 
collection  of  a  vast  amount  of  information  valuable  to  the  gov- 
ernment. 

In  July,  1853,  he  was  promoted  to  a  First  Lieutenancy  in  the 
army,  and  in  !March,  1855,  was  commissioned  as  Captain  in  the 
I''ir»t  Cavalry.  One  year  later  he  was  sent,  with  Iklajors  Danla- 
(ield  and  Mordecai,  to  gather  military  information  in  the  Crimea. 

The  report  of  his  investigations  in  this  great  field  of  strife, 
published  by  order  of  Congress,  is  regarded  by  military  men  as 
replete  with  valuable  instruction. 

On  the  10th  of  January,  1857,  he  resigned  his  commission,  and 
removing  to  Chicago,  filled  for  three  years  the  responsible  posi- 
tion of  Vice  President  and  Engineer  of  the  Illinois  Central  rail- 
road. At  the  end  of  this  time  he  resigned  and  was  made  Gen- 
eral Superintendent  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  railroad,  and 
two  months  later  became  President  of  the  eastern  division  of 
the  same  road,  having  his  residence  at  Cincinnati,  and  receiving 
a  salary  of  $10,000  per  annum,  which  position  and  income  he 
enjoyed  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  rebellion. 

At  this  time  he  ollcred  his  services   to  the  country  and  soon 


MAJOR  GENERAL  GKOEGK  B.  Sl'ci.EI.I.AX.  157 

after  received  a  commission  as  Major  General  from  the  Governor 
of  Ohio. 

In  May,  1861,  he  was  placed  in  command  of  the  Department 
of  the  Ohio— a  department  formed  of  the  States  of  Oliio,  Indi- 
ana and  Illinois — with  headquarters  at  Cincinnati.  Four  days 
later  he  was  commissioned  as  INIajor  General  in  the  regular 
army.  Shortly  afier  this  he  took  the  field  in  Western  Virginia, 
and  conducted  a  very  successful  campaign,  during  which  the 
battles  of  Phillipi  and  Rich  Mountain  were  fought. 

At  the  termination  of  this  campaign  he  was  ordered  to  turn 
his  command  over  to  General  Kosecrans  and  report  to  Wasl;- 
ington,  upon  doing  which,  he  was  appointed  commander  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac.  This  command  he  retained  with  vary- 
ing success  until  the  7th  of  November,  1862,  when  he  was  su- 
perceded by  Gen.  Burnside. 

During  the  several  campaigns  he  conducted  while  in  command 
of  this  department  he  won  two  of  the  most  brilliant  victories 
of  the  war — those  of  Malvern  Hill  and  Antietam,  and  was  uni- 
versally beloved  by  the  soldiers.  The  modesty  with  which  he  re- 
ceived the  order  to  retire,  and  the  utter  disregard  of  all  personal 
claims  he  manifested  in  taking  leave  of  his  army  contrast  widely 
with  the  spirit  exhibited  by  others  under  similar  circumstantes, 
as  his  farewell  address  to  his  army,  which  wo  here  present,  will 
amply  testify : 

"  IIeadquarters,  Army  of  tue  Potomac,         ] 
"Camp  near  Rectortown,  Nov.  7,  1862.  J 

^^  Officers  and  Soldiers  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac: 

"An  order  of  the  President  devolves  upon  Major  General 
Burnside  the  command  of  this  army.  In  parting  with  you,  I 
can  not  express  the  love  and  gratitude  I  bear  you.  As  an  army 
you  have  grown  up  under  my  care.  In  you  1  have  never  found 
doubt  or  coldness.  The  battles  you  have  fought  under  my  com- 
mand will  proiibly  live  in  our  nation's  history.  The  glory  you 
have  achieved,  our  mutual  perils  and  fatigues,  the  graves  of  our 
comrades  fallen  in  battle  and  by  disease,  the  brolsen  forms  of 
those  whom  wounds  and  sickness  have  disabled — the  strongest 
associations  which  can  exist  among  men — unite  us  still  by  an 
indissoluble  tie.  We  shall  ever  be  comrades  in  supporting  the 
constitution  of  our  country  and  the  nationality  of  its  peonle. 

"GEORGE  B.  McCLELLAN, 

"  Major  General  U.  S.  A." 

On  the  Sunday  evening  previous  to  his  departure,  the  officers 
assembled  at  his  tent  for  the  purpose  of  bidding  adieu  to  their 
gallant  leader,  and  from  the  eyes  of  many  of  their  number 
dropped  scalding  tears  of  sorrow  and  regret.     The  following 


io8  MAJOR  GENERAL  GEORGE  B.  Sl'cLELI.Af*. 

day  he  reviewed  tlie  army  of  heroes  who  had  followed  him 
through  many  months  and  many  scenes,  and  as  he  rodo  along 
their  lines,  pronouncing  the  last  farewell,  wild  and  unrestrained 
huzzas  rent  the  air;  and  they  rushed  from  tlie  ranks  and  in  every 
conceivable  manner  gave  evidence  of  their  devotion  and  confi- 
dence, and  of  their  annoyance  and  regret  at  the  separation. 
On  the  tenth  he  took  the  railroad  cars  at  Warrenton,  and  upon 
reaching  ^\'arrentoD  Junction  was  again  received  with  the 
most  gratifying  manifestations.  In  answer  to  the  unanimous 
request  for  a  parting  speech,  General  McClellan  said:  "1  wish 
you  to  stand  by  General  IJurnside  as  you  have  stood  by  me, 
and  all  will  be  well.     Good-bye." 

At  other  stations  on  the  road  he  was  also  greeted  with  enthu- 
siastic cheering.  Reaching  Washington,  he  quietly  went  to  the 
Philadelphia  depot,  and  then  pushing  through  the  city  of  his 
nativity  without  tarrying,  much  to  the  disappointment  of  hosts 
of  admirers,  he  proceeded  to  Trenton.         , 


LIECTENANT-GEKERAL   ULYSSES   6.    GKAXT. 


159 


JO-  ^ 
GRANT 


LIEUTENANT-GENERAL  ULYSSES  S.  GRANT, 

Was  born  at  Mount  Pleasant,  Clermont  county,  Ohio.  It  seems 
that  the  only  marked  traits  of  character  he  exhibited  in  early 
boyhood  were  energy,  industry,  ■will.  His  educational  advan- 
tages, at  this  period,  were  those  of  the  common,  country  school 
— no  more. 

In  the  year  1839,  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  he  entered  the 
United  States  Military  Academy  at  West  Point,  from  which  he 
graduated  on  the  30th  day  of  January,  1843.  During  his  stay 
at  this  Institution  he  manifested  that  untiring  industry,  close 
application  and  unconquerable  will  which  distinguished  his 
lioyhood,  and  which  have  constituted  so  conspicuous  an  element 
of  his  military  character.  It  appears,  however,  that  he  was 
never  regarded  as  a  genius;  and  the  grade  he  sustained  on  the 
day  of  graduation — that  of  21  in  a  class  of  about  42 — would 
not  indhcate  extraordinary  advancement  in  the  studies  assigned 
h  im.  But  it  was  remarked  by  those  who  conducted  him  through 
his  Academic  course,  as  it  has  been  by  those  who  have  observed 
his  military  career,  that  he  never  lost  an  inch  of  the  ground 
gained  at  each  successive  step  in  his  progress.  At  his  gradua- 
tion it  is  said  he  possessed  a  "practical  knowledge  of  the  use 
of  the  rifled  musket,  the  field  piece,  mortar,  siege,  and  sea-coast 


IfiO  LIEUTENAXT-GEKEKAL    ULYSSES    S.    GKAXT. 

guns,  small  sword  and  ba3'onet,  as  well  as   the  construction  ot 
licld  works,  and  the    fabrication    of  all   inuiiitioiis  and  materiel 
war. 

At  the  close  of  his  Academic  course,  he  entered  the  United 
States  regular  army  as  a  Brevet  Second- Lieutenant  of  infantry. 
At  this  time,  the  L'nitcd  States  being  at  {)eaco  with  all  nations, 
(Irant  Avas  attached  as  a  Sii[icrnumerary  Lieutenant  to  the 
fourth  infantry,  then  stationed  on  the  frontier  in  Missouri  and 
Missouri  Territorj',  and  engaged  in  keeping  down  the  Indian 
tribes  that  at  that  time  were  very  troublesome  to  the  early  set- 
tlers of  that  region.  Here  (Jrant  had  not  been  many  months 
when  he  was  ordered,  with  his  regiment,  to  join  the  army  of 
General  Taylor,  in  Texas.  Soon  alter  this,  Corpus  Christi,  an 
important  port  on  the  Texan  shore,  was  taken  possession  of  by 
the  American  army  as  a  base  of  operations  against  the  Mexi- 
cans, between  whom  and  the  United  States  disputes  respecting 
certain  imaginary  boundary  lines  were  fast  ripening  into  a  war ; 
and  it  was  here  that  (irant  received  his  commission  as  full 
Second  Lieutenant  of  Infantry.  This  commission  dated  from 
the  30th  day  of  September,  1845.  On  the  8th  day  of  May, 
184G,  he  participated  in  the  battle  of  I'alo  Alto,  and  although 
not  noticed  in  the  official  reports,  was  spoken  of  by  his  com- 
rades as  having  displayed  great  gallantry.  lie  was  likewise 
engaged  in  the  subseiiuent  brilliant  operations  of  (Jeneral  Tay- 
lor along  the  banks  of  the  Rio  (irande.  On  the  23d  of  Septem- 
ber, 1846,  he  took  part,  with  great  credit  to  himself,  in  the 
splendid  aflair  at  IVIonterey.  Jt  is  a  noteworthy  fact  lltat,  al- 
though (irant's  conduct  in  every  one  of  these  engagements  was 
higlily  meritorious,  he  remained  in  the  back  ground,  claiming 
no  honors  or  promotions,  but  quietly  biding  his  time. 

After  the  formal  declaration  of  war  by  the  United  States, 
against  Mexico,  he  was  transferred  to  the  command  of  (Jcneral 
Scott,  and  subsequently  (March  20,  1847,)  participated  in  the 
siege  of  Vera  Cruz.  Immediately  after  this  affair,  he  was  ap- 
pointed the  (Quartermaster  of  his  regiment,  which  oOicc  he  re- 
tained throughout  t!ie  Mexican  campaign.  He  was,  however, 
honored  with  the  appointment,  on  the  field,  of  First  Lieutenant, 
to  divtc  from  the  8th  of  September,  1847,  for  gallant  and  distin- 
guished voluntary  services  rendered  on  that  day  in  the  I'amous 
battle  of  Molino  del  Kay.  Congress  afterwards  wislied  to  con- 
lirm  the  appointment  as  a  mere  brevet,  but  Grant  refused  to 
accept  it  under  such  circumstances. 

On  the  13th  of  September,  1847,  he  was  made  Brevet  Captain 
of  the  regular  army  for  gallant  conduct  in  the  battle  of  Che- 
pultepcG,  which  battle  occurred  on  the  preceding  day.  On  the 
16th  of  November,  1847,  he  was  commissioned  a  First  Lieuten- 


MEUTEXAXT-GENERAL  ULYSSES  S.   GRANT:  TCI 

ant  in  the   fourth  regiment  of  regular  infantry,   still  retaining 
his  brevet  rank  of  Captain. 

At  the  close  of  the  Mexican  war,  Grant,  upon  the  distribution 
of  his  regiment  in  companies  and  sections  among  the  various 
Northern  frontier  defences,  along  the  borders  of  the  States  of 
Michigan  and  New  York,  took  command  of  his  company  in  one 
of  these  defences.  His  regiment  having  been  afterwards  con- 
solidated and  ordered  to  the  Department  of  the  Tacific,  Grant, 
with  his  own  and  some  other  companies,  was  sent  into  Oregon 
to  Fort  Dallas.  He  received  his  full  promotion  to  Captain  o 
infantry,  in  August,  1853,  and  was,  shortly  afterwards,  attached 
to  the  Department  of  the  West;  but,  not  regarding  military  so 
favorable  to  progress  as  civil  life,  he  resigned  his  connection 
with  the  United  States  army  on  the  31st  day  of  July,  1854,  after 
which  he  resided  near  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  until  the 
year  1859.  Here  he  resided  on  a  small  farm,  occupying  him- 
self in  winter  by  hauling  wood  to  the  Carondelet  market,  and 
during  the  summer  in  the  collection  of  debts,  for  which  latter 
business,  it  is  said,  he  had  little  capacity. 

In  the  year  1859,  he  embarked  in  the  leather  trade  with  hia 
father,  the  firm  opening  business  in  the  city  of  Galena,  Illinois. 
Grant  continued  in  the  leather  business,  driving  a  prosperous 
trade,  up  to  the  breaking  out  of  the  Kebellion  in  1861,  when  ha- 
offered  his  services  to  his  country,  upon  the  first  call  for  volun- 
teers, and  was  appointed  by  Governor  Yates  as  Commander-in- 
Chief  of  the  Illinois  forces  and  mustering  officer  of  Illinois 
volunteers.  Desiring  active  service  in  the  field,  he  resigned  his 
appointment  as. mustering  officer,  and  aoccpted  the  Colonelcy  of. 
the  21st  regiment  of  Illinois  volunteers,  with  a  commission 
dating  from  June  15,  1861.  In  August,  1861,  Colonel  Grant 
was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Brigadier  General  of  volunteers, 
his  commission  dating  from  May  17,  1861. 

Shortly  after  this  he  was  appointed  commandant  of  the  post 
at  Cairo — which  post  included  the  Missouri  shore  of  the  Missis- 
sippi river,  from  Cape  Girardeau  to  New  Madrid,  and  the  oppo- 
site shore,  to  the  point  of  land  on  which  Cairo  stands.  This 
position  Grant  filled  with  great  ability,  checkmating,  by  his 
adroit  maneuvering,  the  efforts  of  the  rebels  to  occupy,  perma- 
nently, southern  Kentucky,  and  conducting  those  successful 
expeditions  against  Forts  Henry  and  Donelson,  which  opened, 
the  way  to  the  occupation  of  Western  Tennessee. 

On  the  16th  of  February,  1862,  the  day  after  the  surrender  of 
Fort  Donelson,  he  was  appointed  Major  General  of  volunteers, 
and  was  placed  in  command  of  an  expedition  up  the  Tennessee 
river  against  the  rebels  in  and  about  Corinth,  under  command 
of  Johnston  and  Beauregard.  This  expedition  terminated  in 
the  great  battle  of  Shiloh  or  Pittsburg  Landing — Avhich  battle, 

11 


162  MEUTEKANT-GENERAL    ULTSSKS   S.    GRANT. 

occupying  two  da3'9,  (April  6th  and  7th,  18G2,)  was  one  of  tlie 
•bloudicst  of  the  war,  and  resulted  in  the  dei'cut  of  the  rebels 
and  their  retreat  upon  Corinth. 

For  the  immense  slaughter  which  attended  this  battle,  (Gen- 
eral (irant  was  very  severely  censured  by  the  people,  generally, 
thnHiL'hout  the  Western  States. 

Soon  after  this,  (icneral  Ilalleek  having  assumed  command  of 
the  army  before  Corinth,  and  that  place  having  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  the  United  States  forces  by  evacuation,  an  important 
change  took  place  in  the  army,  which  resulted  in  the  assignment 
of  General  (Jnint  to  the  District  of  West  'J'ennessee,  and  the 
promotion  of  General  Ualleck  to  the  office  of  (>cneral-in-Chief. 
The  former  soon  after  formed  the  plan  of  opening  the  Missis- 
sippi river  to  its  mouth.  Memphis  having  been  given  up  to  our 
troops,  tiie  chief  ol)stacle  in  the  way  of  the  prosecution  of  tho 
design  were  Vicksburg  and  Fort  Hudson. 

After  a  series  of  expeditions  and  battles,  land  and  naval,  in 
which  the  courage  and  fortitude  of  the  Union  troops  were  no 
less  prominently  exhibited  tlian  tho  superior  euL'ineering  pow- 
ers and  unyielding  stubliornness  of  (iieneral  (Jrant,  Vicksburg 
was  reduced  by  siege,  and  was  occupied  by  Grant  on  the  4th  of 
July,  ] 863;  and  directly  after  this  (July  S,  1863)  followed  the 
surrender  of  Fort  Hudson  to  General  N.   P.  Banks. 

On  the  Kith  of  October,  1863,  the  Departments  of  the  Ohio, 
of  the  Cumberland,  and  of  the  Tennessee  were  foniied  into  the 
Military  Division  of  the  Mississippi,  under  the  command  of 
(iJeneral  Grant.  The  (ieneral,  however,  was  not  long  in  this 
position  until,  the  grade  of  Lieutenant  General  having  been 
revived,  he  was  promoted  to  that  office — which  office  gave  him 
control  of  the  entire  forces  of  the  United  States.  This  appoint- 
ment was  made  in  February,  1864,  and  was  immediately  fol- 
lowed by  the  most  active,  thorough  preparations  for  a  movement 
upon  Richmond  by  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  under  the  per- 
sonal command  of  General  Grant,  and  an  expedition  against 
Atlanta  under  command  of  General  Sherman.  The  battles  of 
the  "Wilderness,  of  Spott.sylvania  Court  House,  and  the  siege  of 
Petersburg  have  been  thus  far  the  chief  results  of  Grant's 
movements.  What  may  be  the  ultimate  fruits  it  is  nol  tho 
province  of  the  biographer  to  anticipate. 


A.NDBEW  JOHNSON. 


163 


ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

Was  bom  at  Haleigh,  North  Carolina,  December  29th,  1808,  and 
is  now  fifty-five  years  old.  He  lost  his  father  when  only  four 
years  old.  At  the  age  of  ten  he  was  apprenticed  to  a  tailor  in 
Kaleigh,  and  served  with  him  an  apprenticeship  of  seven  years. 
His  mother  was  poor,  and  had  been  unable  to  give  him  any 
educational  advantages,  but  young  Andy,  whose  unconquerable 
spirit  was  not  to  be  restrained  by  any  disadvantages,  became 
stimulated  with  a  desire  for  knowledge.  He  acquired  the  alpha* 
bet  with  no  other  instructions  than  those  obtained  from  the 
journeymen  with  whom  he  worked.  He  learned  to  read  from 
an  old  volume  of  speeches,  loaned  him  by  a  friend,  and  thence- 
forward, after  ten  hours'  work  with  his  goose,  needle  and  scis- 
sors, applied  himself  with  vigor  to  study  for  three  or  four  houra 
each  evening.  In  1824,  having  completed  his  apprenticeship, 
he  went  to  Laurens  Court  House,  South  Carolina,  where  he 
worked  as  journeyman  for  two  years.  In  1826  he  set  out  for? 
the  West,  taking  his  mother,  whom  already,  at  his  early  age  and 
with  hia  scanty  wages,  he  was  supporting.  He  made  his  home 
at  Greenville,  Tennessee,  where  he  remained  and  commenced 


164  ANDREW  JOnX-SON. 

business,  and  where  he  became  a  thriving  and  popular  man. 
"With  the  indefatigable  thirst  for  knowledge  which  had  charac- 
terized his  early  career,  he  still  pursued  his  studies,  and  in  the 
evenings  which  followed  a  day  of  labor,  with  his  wife  as  instruc- 
tress, pushed  on  in  the  road  to  knowledge. 

He  entered  early  into  political  life,  being  elected  to  the  first 
office  which  he  ever  held — that  of  Alderman  of  the  village  of 
Greenville — in  1828.  He  was  re-elected  to  the  same  office  in 
1829.  In  1830  he  was  elected  Mayor,  and  retained  that  posi- 
tion for  three  years.  In  1S35  ho  was  sent  to  the  Legislature, 
where  ho  chiefly  distinguished  himself  by  taking  strong  grounds 
against  a  scheme  of  internal  improvements,  which  he  argued 
■was  extravagant  and  useless.  The  measure  was  popular,  how- 
ever, and  he  was  defeated  in  1837.  In  1838  he  was  a  candidate 
again,  and  was  this  time  successful.  In  1840  he  served  as  Pres- 
idential Elector  for  the  State  at  large  on  the  Democratic  ticket, 
and  during  the  campaign  rendered  efficient  service  to  the  party 
as  a  stump  speaker.  In  1841  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Sen- 
ate, and  in  1843,  at  the  age  of  thirty-five,  he  was  elected  to  Con- 
gress, where  he  held  his  seat;  being  four  times  re-elected,  until 
1853.  During  this  time  he  was  thoroughly  identified  with  the 
old  Democratic  party,  and  supported  all  the  party  measures.  In 
1853  he  was  elected  Governor,  after  a  very  exciting  contest,  over 
Gustavus  A.  Henry.  He  was  re-elected  in  1855  over  Meredith 
P.  Gentry,  the  Whig  candidate.  At  the  expiration  of  his  Gub- 
ernatorial term,  in  1857,  he  was  chosen  United  States  Senator 
by  a  Democratic  majority  in  the  Legislature  of  Tennessee.  In 
that  body  he  commanded  the  respect  of  all  his  compeers,  as  an 
able,  eloquent,  and  patriotic  statesman.  At  the  breaking  out 
of  the  rebellion.  Senator  Andrew  Johnson  still  proclaimed  his 
allegiance  to  the  United  States,  and  continued  to  hold  his  seat 
in  the  Senate,  though  his  course  subjected  him  to  much  unpopu- 
larity and  even  danger. 

"When,'in  the  spring  of  1862,  our  army  had  penetrated  Ten- 
nessee to  Nashville,  and  the  northern  and  central  portions  of 
the  States  were  wrested  from  rebel  control,  the  President 
desired  the  services  of  a  wise  and  sagacious  man,  of  unques- 
tionable loyalty,  to  act  as  Military  Governor  of  that  State, 
and  he  did  not  have  long  to  look — Andrew  Johnson  was  at  once 
recognised  as  the  man  for  tiic  place,  and  being  commissioned  a 
Brigadier  General,  he  repaired  to  Nashville,  where  he  has  for 
two  years  discharged  the  delicate  and  responsible  duty  of  his 
charge  with  a  degree  of  wisdom  and  efficiency,  which  has  chal- 
lenged general  admiration.  Under  his  administration,  the  rebel- 
lion has  steadily  been  losing  its  hold  in  Tennessee,  and  loyalty 
aa  constantly  cultivated  and  developed. 

He  was  nominated  for  the  Vice  Presidency  by  the  Union  Con* 
vention,  at  Baltimore,  June  8,  1864. 


PROPOSE  D  CRITTENDEN  COMPROMISE. 


At  the  commencement  of  the  Congressional  session  of  1860, 
the  portentious  clouds  of  civil  war,  gathering  and  blackening  in 
the  Southern  horizon  of  our  national  sky,  filled  the  hearts  of 
the  stoutest  patriots  with  the  most  gloomy  apprehensions,  and 
cast  a  melancholy  shadow  over  every  Union-loving  soul  through- 
out the  country,  somewhat  akin  to  that  which  hovers  over  an 
affectionate  son  or  daughter,  upon  the  approaching  dissolution 
of  a  cherished,  devoted  mother.  The  following  compromise, 
offered  by  Senator  Crittenden,  December  19,  1860,  is  one  of  the 
many  measures  proposed  in  Congress  for  adjusting  the  difficul- 
ties of  that  period: 

Resolved,  By  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives, 
That  the  following  articles  be  proposed  and  submitted  as  an 
amendment  to  the  Constitution,  which  shall  be  valid  as  a  part 
of  the  Constitution,  when  ratified  by  the  conventions  of  three- 
fourths  of  the  people  of  the  States : 

\st.  In  all  the  territory  now  or  hereafter  acquired,  north  of 
36°  30',  slavery,  or  involuntary  servitude,  except  for  the  punish- 
ment of  crime,  is  prohibited;  while  in  all  the  territory  south  of 
that,  slavery  is  hereby  recognized  as  existing,  and  shall  not  be 
interfered  with  by  Congress,  but  shall  be  protected  as  property 
by  all  the  departments  of  the  territorial  government  during  its 
continuence.  All  the  territory  north  or  south  of  said  line, 
within  such  boundaries  as  Congress  may  prescribe,  when  it 
contains  a  population  necessary  for  a  member  of  Congress, 
with  a  republican  form  of  government,  shall  be  admitted  into 
the  Union  on  an  equality  with  the  original  States,  with  or  with- 
out slavery,  as  the  Constitution  of  the  State  shall  prescribe. 

2nd.  Congress  shall  have  no  power  to  abolish  slavery  in  the 
State  permitting  it. 

3rd  Congress  shall  have  no  power  to  abolish  slavery  in  the 
District  of  Columbia  while  it  exists  in  Virginia  and  Maryland, 
or  either;  nor  shall  Congress  at  any  time  prohibit  the  officers 
of  Government,  or  Members  of  Congress,  whose  duties  require 
them  to  live  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  bringing  slaves  there 
and  using  them  as  such. 

Aih.  Congress  shall  have^  no  power  to  hinder  the  transporta- 

(165) 


166  PROPOSED   CRITTKNDK.V    C03IPR0jri3E. 

tion  of  slaves  from  one  State  to  anotlier,  whether  by  land,  navi- 
gable river,  or  sea. 

5th.  Congress  shall  have  the  power  by  law,  to  pay  any  owner 
the  full  value  of  any  fnpitive  slave,  in  all  cases  where  the  mar- 
shal is  prevented  from  discharf^ing  his  duty  by  force  or  rescue, 
made  after  arrest,  in  nil  such  cases  the  owner  shall  have  the 
power  to  sue  the  county  in  which  the  rescue  or  violence  was 
made;  and  the  county  shall  have  the  right  to  sue  the  individuals 
who  committed  the  wrong,  in  the  saiii^;  manner  as  the  owner 
tould  sue. 

Cti.  No  future  amendment  or  amendments  shall  effect  the 
preceding  article,  and  Congress  shall  never  have  power  to  inter- 
fere with  slavery  within  the  States  where  it  is  permitted. 


EMANCIPATION  PROCLAMATION. 


Whereas,  on  the  twenty-second  day  of  September,  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-two,  ? 
prochimation  was  issued  by  the  President  of  the  United  States 
containing  among  other  things  the  following,  to-wit: 

That  on  the  first  day  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty  three,  all  persons  held  as 
slaves  within  any  State,  or  designated  part  of  a  State,  the  people 
whereof  shall  then  be  in  rebellion  against  the  United  States, 
shall  be  then,  thenceforth  and  forever  free,  and  the  Executive 
Government  of  the  United  States,  including  the  military  and 
naval  authorities  thereof,  will  recognize  and  maintain  the  free- 
dom of  such  persons,  or  any  of  them,  in  any  efforts  they  may 
make  for  their  actual  freedom. 

That  the  Executive  will,  on  the  first  day  of  January  afore- 
said, by  proclamation,  designate  the  States  and  parts  of  States, 
if  any,  in  wiiich  the  people  therein  respectively  shall  then  be  in 
rebellion  against  the  United  States,  and  the  fact  that  any  State, 
or  the  people  thereof,  shall  on  that  day  be  in  good  faith  repre- 
sented in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  by  members  chosen 
thereto,  tit  elections  wherein  a  majority  of  the  qualified  voters 
of  such  States  shall  have  participated,  shall,  in  the  absence  of 
strong  countervailing  testimony,  be  deemed  conclusive  evidence 
that  such  State  and  the  people  thereof  are  not  then  in  rebellion 
against  the  United  States. 

Now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the  United 
States,  by  virtue  of  the  power  in  me  vested  as  Commander-in- 
chief  of  the  Army  and  Navy  of  the  United  States  in  time  of 
actual  armed  rebellion  against  the  authority  and  Government 
of  the  United  States,  and  as  a  fit  and  necessary  war  measure 
for  suppressing  said  rebellion,  do,  on  tliis  first  day  of  January, 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty- 
three,  and  in  accordance  with  my  purpose  so  to  do,  publicly 
proclaimed  for  the  full  period  of  one  hundred  days  from  the 
day  of  the  first  above-mentioned  order,  and  designate,  as  the 
States  and  parts  of  States  wherein  the  people  thereof  respect- 
ively are  this  day  in  rebellion  against  the  United  States,  the 
following  to-wit :  Arkansas,  Texas,  Louisiana,  except  the  par 
ishes    of    St.    Bernard,    Plaquemines,    Jefferson,    St.  John,    St. 

(167) 


168  EMAXCIPATION     PKOCI.AMATION. 

Charles,  St.  James,  Ascension,  Assumption,  Terro  Bonne,  La 
fourclie,  8t.  Mary,  St  Martin  and  Orleans,  includini,'  tlic  city  of 
New  Orleans.  Mississippi,  Alabama,  Florida,  Geuri;ia,  South 
Carolina,  North  Carolina,  and  Virjrinia,  except  the  forty-eight 
coijnties  desi^^nated  as  West  Virginia,  and  also  the  counties  of 
Berkeley,  Accomac,  Northampton,  Elizahi^tli  City,  York,  Prin- 
cess Ann,  and  Norfolk,  including:  the  cities  of  Norfolk  and 
Portsmouth,  and  which  excepted  parts  are,  for  the  present,  left 
precisely  as  if  this  proclamation  were  not  issued. 

And  by  virtue  of  the  power  and  for  the  purpose  aforesaid,  1 
«lo  order  and  decdare  that  all  persons  held  as  slaves  within  said 
designated  States  and  parts  of  States  are,  and  hc-nccforward 
shall  be  free;  and  that  the  Executive  Government  of  the  United 
States,  including  the  military  and  naval  authorities  tliereof,  will 
recognize  and  niaintain  the  freedom  of  said  pcrsuna. 

And  1  hereby  enjoin  upon  the  people  so  declared  to  be  free, 
to  abstain  from  all  violence,  unless  in  necessarj'  self-defence, 
and  I  recommend  to  them,  that  in  all  cases,  when  allowed,  they 
labor  faitlifuUy  for  reasonable  wages. 

And  1  furtlier  declare  and  make  known  that  such  persons  of 
suitable  condition  will  be  received  into  the  armed  service  of 
the  United  States  to  garrison  forts,  positions,  stations,  and  other 
piaces,  and  to  man  vessels  of  all  sorts  in  said  service. 

And  upon  this,  sincerely  believed  to  be  an  act  of  justice, 
warranted  by  the  Constitution,  upon  military  necessity,  1  invoke 
the  considerate  judgment  of  mankind  and  the  gracious  favor  of 
Almighty  Cod. 

In  witness  Avhereof  1  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  caused 
the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

Done  at  the    City   of  Washington,    this  first  day  of 
.Fanuary,  in  the   year   of  our  Lord    one  thousand  eight 
[l.  s.]     hundred  and   sixty-three,  and    of  the  Independence  of 
the  United  States  of  America  the  eighty-seventh. 
By  the  President:  Abraham  Lincoln. 

William  II.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State. 

LETTER     FROM     THE     PRESIOKNT     EXPL.^IXIXG     THE     EMANCIPATION 

I'KOCLA.MATION. 

The  following  letter,  written  in  August,  1863,  in  answer  to  an 
invitation  to  attend  a  metting  of  unconditional  Union  men  held 
in  Illinois,  gives  at  length  the  President's  views  at  that  time  on 
his  Emancipation  proclamation: 

"  Executive  IMaxsion.  Washington,  August  2(jth,  1863. 
"My  De.\r  Sir:     Your  letter  inviting  nie  to  attend  a  mass 
meeting  of  unconditional  Union  men,  to  be  held  at  the  capitol 


EMANdPATION'    I'ROCLAMATJOX.  169 

of  Illinois  on  the  third  day  of  September,  has  been  received.      U. 
would  be  very  agreeable  to  me  to  thus  meet  my  old  friends  at 
my  own  home;  iJ'ut  I  can  not  just  now  be  absent  from  this  city 
so  long  as  a  visit  there  would  require.     The  meeting  is  to  l)e  of 
all  those  who  maintain  unconditional  devotion   to  the  Union, 
and  1  am  sure  my  old  political  friends  will  thank  me  for  tender- 
ing, as  1  do,  the   nation's  gratitude  to  those   other  noble  men 
wiiom  no  partisan  malice  or  partisan  hope  can  make  false  to  the 
nation's  life.     There  are  those  who  are  dissatisfied  with  me.     To 
such  I  would  say: — You  desire  peace,  and  you  blame  me  that 
you  do  not  have  it.     But  how  can  we  attain  it?     There  are  biiD 
three  conceivable  ways: — First,  to   suppress  the  rebellion  by 
force  of  arms.     This  I  am  trying  to  do.     Are  you  for  it?     If 
you  are,  so  far  we  are  agreed.     If  you  are  not  for  it,  a  second 
way  is  to  give  up  the  Union.     I  am  against  this.     If  you  are, 
you  should  say  so,  plainly.     If  you  are  not  for  force,  nor  yet  for 
dissolution,   there  only  remains  some  imaginable  compromise. 
I  do  not  believe  that  any  compromise  embracing  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  Union  is  now  possible.     All  that  I  learn  leads  to  a 
directly  opposite  belief     The  strength   of  the   rebellion   is  its 
military  —  its    army.       The    army    dominates   all    the    country 
and  all  the  people   within  its  range.     Any  offer  of  any  terms 
made   by  any  man  or  meti  within  that  range  in  opposition  to 
that  army  is  simply  nothing  for  the  present,  because  such  man 
or  men  have  no  power  whatever  to  enforce  their  side  of  a  com- 
promise, if  one  were  made  with  them.     To  illustrate :     Suppose 
refugees   from   the   South   and   peace  men   of  the   North   get 
together  in  convention,  and  frame  and  proclaim  a  compromise 
embracing  a  restoration  of  the  Union.     In  what  way  can  that 
compromise  be  used  to  keep  General  Lee's  army  out  of  Penn- 
sylvania?    General  Meade's  army  can  keep  Lee's  army  out  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  I   think  can  ultimately   drive   it  out  of  ex- 
istence.     But  no  paper  compromise  to  which  the  controllers  of 
General  Lee's  army  are  not  agreed,  can  at  all  effect  that  army. 
[n  an  effort  at  such  compromise  we  would  waste  time  which  tho 
enemy  would  improve  to  our  disadvantage,  and  that  would  be 
all.     A  compromise,  to  be  effective,  must  be  made  either  with 
those  who  control  the  rebel  army,  or  with  the  people,  first  liber- 
ated from  the  domination  of  that  army  by  the  success  of  our 
army.     Now,  allow  me  to  assure  you  that  no  word  or  intimation 
from  the  rebel  army,  or  from  any  of  the  men  controlling  it,  in 
relation  to  any  peace  comprotnise,  has  ever  come  to  my  know- 
ledge or  belief     All  charges  and   intimations  to   the   contrary 
are  deceptive  and  groundless.     And  I  promise  you  that  if  any 
Buch  proposition  shall  hereafter  come,  it  shall  not  lie  rejected 
and  kept  secret  from  you.     I  freely  acknowledge  myself  to  be 
the  servant  of  the  people,  according  to  the  bond  of  service,  the 


no  KMANCIPATION     PROCLAMATION. 

United  States  constitution;  and  that,  as  such,  I  am  rospon.siUlc 
to  tliotn.  But,  to  1)0  plain.  You  are  dissatisfied  witii  mo  about 
the  noirrn.  (^hiite  likely  there  is  a  diflerence  of  ojiinion  between 
jou  and  myself  upon  that  subject.  I  certainly  wish  that  all 
men  could  be  free,  while  you,  I  suppose,  do  not.  Yet  I  have 
neither  adopted  nor  proposal  any  measure  wliioii  is  not  consis- 
tent with  even  your  view,  provided  you  are  (.'r  the  Union.  1 
su<:gested  compensated  emancipation,  to  whicli  you  replied  that 
you  wished  not  to  be  taxed  to  buy  nci^roes  But  1  have  not 
ivskcd  you  to  be  taxed  to  buy  ncgrooa,  except  in  such  way  as  to 
save  you  from  greater  taxation,  to  save  the  Union  exclusively  by 
other  means. 

"You  dislike  the  emancipation  proclamation,  and  perhaps 
would  have  it  retracted.  You  say  it  is  unconstitutional.  I 
think  dilferently.  1  think  that  the  constitution  invests  the  com- 
mander-in-chief with  the  law  of  war  in  time  of  war.  The  most 
that  can  be  said,  if  so  much,  is,  that  the  slaves  are  property. 
Is  there,  has  there  ever  been,  any  question  that  by  the  law  of 
war,  property  both  of  enemies  and  friends,  may  be  taken  when 
needed?  And  is  it  not  needed  whenever  taki  I'Z  it  helps  us  or 
hurts  the  enemy?  Armies,  the  world  over,  destroy  enemies' 
property  when  they  can  not  use  it;  and  even  destroy  their  own 
to  keep  it  from  the  enemy.  Civilized  beligerents  do  all  in  their 
power  to  help  themselves  or  hurt  the  enemy,  except  a  few  things 
regarded  as  barbarous  or  cruel.  Among  the  exceptions  are  the 
massacre  of  vanquished  foes  and  non-combatants,  male  and 
female.  JJut  the  proclamation,  as  law,  is  vrelid  or  is  not  valid. 
If  it  is  not  valid  it  needs  no  retraction.  If  it  is  valid  it  can  not 
be  retracted,  any  more  than  the  dead  can  be  brought  to  life. 
Some  of  you  profess  to  think  that*  its  retraction  would  operate 
favorably  for  the  Union.  Why  better  after  the  retraction  than 
before  the  issue?  There  was  more  than  a  year  and  a  half  of 
trial  to  suppress  the  rebellion  before  the  proclamation  was 
issued,  the  last  one  hundred  days  of  which  passed  under  an 
explicit  notice,  that  it  was  coming  unless  averted  by  those  in 
revolt  returning  to  their  allegiance.  The  war  has  certainly 
progressed  as  favorably  for  us  since  the  is.>ue  of  the  proclama- 
tion as  before.  1  know  as  fully  as  one  can  know  the  opinion  of 
others,  that  some  of  the  commanders  of  our  armies  in  the  field, 
who  have  given  us  our  most  important  victories,  believe  the 
emancipation  policy  and  the  aid  of  colored  troops  to  be  the 
heaviest  blows  yet  dealt  to  the  rebellion,  and  that  at  least  one 
of  these  important  successes  could  not  have  been  achieved  when 
it  wan  but  for  the  aid  of  black  soldiers.  Among  the  command- 
ers holding  these  views  are  some  wlio  have  never  had  any 
affinity  with  what  is  called  abolitionism  or  with  'republican 
party  p(ditii;s.' — Hut  who  hold  them  purely  as  military  opinions. 


EMANCIPATIOJf    PROCLAMATIOS.  171 

1  submit  their  opinions  as  being  entitled  to  some  weiglit  against 
the  objections  often  urged  that  emancipation  and  arming  the 
blacks  are  unwise  as  military  measures,  and  were  not  adopted 
as  such  in  good  faith.  You  say  that  jou  will  not  fight  to  free 
negroes.  Some  of  them  seem  to  be  willing  to  fight  for  you — but 
no  matter.  Fight  yon,  then,  exclusively  to  save  the  Union.  1 
issued  the  proclamation  on  purpose  to  aid  you  in  saving  the 
Union.  Whenever  you  shall  have  conquered  all  resistance  to 
the  Union,  if  I  shall  urge  you  to  continue  fighting,  it  will  be  an 
apt  time  then  for  you  to  declare  that  you  will  not  fight  to  free 
negroes.  I  thought  that  in  your  struggle  for  the  Union,  to 
whatever  extent  the  negroes  should  cease  helping  the  enemy,  to 
that  extent  it  weakened  the  enemy  in  his  resistance  to  you.  Do 
you  think  difierently?  I  thought  that  whatever  negroes  can  be 
got  to  do  as  soldiers,  leaves  just  so  much  less  for  white  soldiers 
to  do  in  saving  the  Union.  Does  it  appear  otherwise  to  you? 
But  negroes,  like  other  people,  act  upon  motives.  Why  should 
they  do  any  thing  for  us  if  we  will  do  nothing  for  them?  If 
they  stake  their  lives  for  us  they  must  be  prompted  by  the 
strongest  motive,  even  the  promise  of  freedom.  And  the  prom- 
ise being  made,  must  be  kept.  The  signs  look  better.  The 
Father  of  Waters  again  goes  unvexed  to  the  sea.  Thanks  to 
the  great  North-west  for  it.  Not  yet  wholly  to  them.  Three 
hundred  miles  up  they  met  New  England,  Empire,  Keystone  and 
Jersey,  hewing  their  way  right  and  left.  The  Sunny  South,  too, 
in  more  colors  than  one,  also  lent  a  hand.  On  the  spot  their 
part  of  the  history  was  jotted  down  in  black  and  white.  The 
job  was  a  great  national  one,  and  let  none  be  blamed  who  bore 
an  honorable  part  in  it;  and,  while  those  who  have  cleared  the 
great  river  may  well  be  proud,  even  that  is  not  all.  It  is  hard 
to  say  that  anything  has  been  more  bravely  or  better  done  than 
at  Antietam,  Slurfreesboro,  Gettysburg,  and  on  many  fields  of 
less  note.  Nor  must  Uncle  Sam's  webfleet  be  forgotten.  At  all 
the  waters'  margins  they  have  been  present: — not  only  on  the 
deep  sea,  the  broad  bay  and  the  rapid  river,  but  also  up  the  nar- 
row, muddy  bayou;  and  wherever  the  ground  was  a  little  damp 
they  have  been  and  made  their  tracks.  Thanks  to  all.  For  the 
great  republic  —  for  the  principles  by  which  it  lives  and  keeps 
alive  —  for  man's  vast  future  —  thanks  to  all.  Peace  does  not 
appear  so  far  distant  as  it  did.  I  hope  it  will  come  soon,  and 
come  to  stay:  and  so  come  as  to  be  worth  the  keeping  in  all 
future  time.  It  will  then  have  proved  that  among  freeman 
there  can  be  no  successful  appeal  from  the  ballot  to  the  bullet, 
and  that  they  who  take  such  appeal  are  sure  to  lose  their  case 
and  pay  the  cost.  And  then  there  will  be  some  black  men  who 
can  remember  that,  with  silent  tongue,  and  clenched  teeth,  and 
steady  eye,  and  well  poised  bayonet,  they  have  helped  mankind 


172  KMANCU'ATIO.V    riiOCLAMATION. 

on  to  this  urciit  coiisuininiUion :  while  I  fear  tliat  there  will  be 
some  white  men  iinal/Jo  to  forj^et  that  with  malignant  heart  and 
deceitful  speech  they  have  striven  to  hinder  it.  ytill  let  us 
not  be  over  sanguine  of  a  speedy  final  triumph.  Let  us  be 
quite  sober.  Let  us  diligently  apply  the  means,  never  doubting 
that  a  just  Cod,  in  His  own  good  time,  will  give  us  the  rightful 
result.  Yours  very  truly,  A.  Lincoln." 


PEOCLAMATION  OP  ANMEW  JACKSON. 


The  President  of  the  United  States  to  the  nullifiers  of  South 
Carolina  : 

Whereas,  A  convention  assembled  in  the  State  of  South  Car- 
olina have  passed  an  ordinance,  by  which  they  declare,  "  that 
the  several  acts  and  parts  of  acts  of  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  purporting  to  be  laws  for  the  imposing  of  duties  and 
imposts  on  the  importation  of  foreign  commodities,  and  now 
having  actual  operation  and  effect  within  the  United  States,  and 
more  especially,"  two  acts  for  the  same  purposes  passed  on  the 
29th  of  May,  1828,  and  on  the  14th  of  July,  1832,  "are  unau- 
thorized by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  violate 
the  true  meaning  and  intent  thereof,  and  are  null  and  void,  and 
no  law,"  nor  binding  on  the  citizens  of  that  State  or  its  officers: 
and  by  the  said  ordinance,  it  is  further  declared  to  be  unlawful 
for  any  of  the  constituted  authorities  of  the  State  or  of  the 
United  States  to  enforce  the  payment  of  the  duties  imposed  by 
the  said  acts  with  the  same  State,  and  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
Legislature  to  pass  such  laws  as  may  be  necessary  to  give  full 
effect  to  the  said  ordinance : 

And  whereas,  By  the  said  ordinance,  it  is  further  ordained 
that  in  no  case  of  law  or  equity  decided  in  the  courts  of  said 
State,  wherein  shall  be  drawn  in  question  the  validity  of  the 
said  ordinance,  or  of  the  acts  of  the  Legislature  that  may  be 
passed  to  give  it  effect,  or  of  the  said  laws  of  the  United  States, 
no  appeal  shall  be  allowed  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States,  nor  shall  any  copy  of  the  record  be  permitted  or  allowed 
for  that  purpose;  and  that  any  person  attempting  to  take  such 
appeal  shall  be  punished  as  for  a  contempt  of  court: 

And,  finally,  the  said  ordinance  declares  that  the  people  of 
South  Carolina  will  maintain  the  said  ordinance  at  every  hazard ; 
and  that  they  will  consider  the  passage  of  any  act,  by  Congress, 
abolishing  or  closing  the  ports  of  the  said  State,  or  otherwise 
obstructing  the  free  ingress  or  egress  of  vessels  to  and  from  the 
said  ports,  or  any  other  act  of  the  Federal  Government  to  coerce 
the  State,  shut  up  her  ports,  destroy  or  harrass  her  commerce, 
or  to  enforce  the  said  act  otherwise  than  through  the  civil  tri- 
bunals of  the  country,  as  inconsistant  with  the  longer  contin- 

(173) 


174  PROCLAMATION  OF  ANDUEW   JACKSON, 

uance  of  South  Carolina  in  the  Union,  and  that  the  people  of 
the  Baid  i^tate  will  thenceforth  hold  themselves  absolved  from  all 
further  oLli.uation  to  maintain  or  preserve  their  political  connec- 
tion with  the  people  of  the  other  States,  and  will  forthwith  pro- 
ceed to  or<iaiiize  a  separate  government,  and  do  all  other  acts 
and  things  which  sovereign  and  independent  States  may  of 
right  do. 

And  wiiKUKAS,  The  said  ordinance  prescribes  to  the  people 
of  South  Carolina  a  course  of  conduct  in  direct  violation  of 
their  duty  as  citizens  of  the  United  States,  contrary  to  the  laws 
of  their  country,  subversive  of  its  Constitution,  and  having  for 
its  object  tlie  destruction  of  the  Union, — that  Union,  which,  co- 
eval witli  our  political  existence,  led  our  fathers,  without  any 
other  ties  to  unite  tiicm  than  those  of  patriotism  and  a  common 
cause,  through  a  sanguinary  struggle  to  a  glorious  indepen- 
dence,— that  sacred  Union,  hitherto  inviolate,  which,  perfected 
by  our  happy  Constitution,  has  brought  us,  by  the  favor  of 
Heaven,  to  a  state  of  prosperity  at  home,  and  high  consideration 
abroad,  rarely,  if  ever,  equalled  in  the  history  of  nations.  To 
preserve  this  bond  of  our  political  existence  from  destruction, 
to  maintain  inviolate  this  state  of  national  honor  and  prosperity, 
and  to  justify  the  confidence  my  fellow  citizens  have  reposed  in 
me,  1,  AxDKEW  Jacksov,  President  of  the  United  States,  have 
thought  proper  to  issue  this,  my  Pkoclamation,  stating  my  views 
of  the  Constitution  and  laws  ajifilicable  to  the  measures  adopted 
by  the  Convention  of  South  Carolina,  and  to  the  reasons  they 
have  put  forth  to  sustain  them,  declaring  the  course  which  duty 
will  require  me  to  pursue,  and,  appealing  to  the  understanding 
and  patriotism  of  the  people,  wain  them  of  the  consequences 
that  must  inevitably  result  from  an  observance  of  the  dictates 
of  the  convention. 

Strict  duty  would  require  of  me  nothing  more  than  the  exer- 
cise of  those  powers  with  which  I  am  now,  or  may  hereafter  be 
invested,  for  preserving  the  ])eace  of  the  Union,  and  for  the 
execution  of  the  laws.  Uut  the  imposing  aspect  which  opposi- 
tion has  assumed  in  this  case,  by  clothing  itself  with  State  au- 
thority, and  the  deep  interest  which  the  people  of  the  United 
States  must  all  feel  in  preventing  a  resort  to  stronger  measures, 
while  there  is  a  hope  that  anything  will  be  yielded  to  reasoning 
and  remonstrance,  perhaps  demand,  and  will  certainly  justify,  a 
lull  exposition  to  South  Carolina  and  the  nation  of  the  views  I 
entertain  of  this  important  question,  as  well  as  a  distinct  enun- 
ciation of  the  course  which  my  sense  of  duty  will  require  me 
to  pursue. 

The  ordinance  is  founded,  not  on  the  indefeasible  right  of  re- 
eisting  acts  which  are  plainly  unconstitutional,  and  too  oppres- 
sive to  be  endured ;  but  on  the  strange   position  that  anyone 


PROCLAMATION    OF    ANDREW   JACKSON,  175 

StKte  may  not  only  declare  an  act  void,  but  prohibit  its  execu- 
tion— that  they  may  do  this  consisiently  with  the  Constituiion — 
that  the  true  construction  of  that  instrument  permits  a  State  to 
retain  its  place  in  the  Union,  and  yet  be  bound  by  no  other  of 
its  laws  than  those  it  may  choose  to  consider  as  constitutional. 
It  is  truo,  they  add,  that  to  justify  this  abrogation  of  law,  it 
must  be  palpably  contrary  to  the  Constitution  ;  but  it  is  evident, 
that  to  give  the  right  of  resisting  laws  of  that  description, 
coupled  with  the  uncontrolled  right  to  decide  what  laws  deserve 
that  character,  is  to  give  the  power  of  resisting  all  laws.  For, 
as  by  the  theory,  there  is  no  appeal,  the  reasons  alleged  by  the 
State,  good  or  bad,  must  prevail.  If  it  should  bo  said  that  pub- 
lic opinion  is  a  sufficient  check  against  the  abuse  of  this  power, 
it  may  be  asked  why  it  is  not  deemed  a  sufficient  guard  against 
an  unconstitutional  act  of  Congress?  There  is,  however,  a 
restraint  in  this  last  case,  which  makes  the  assumed  power  of  a 
State  more  indefensible,  and  which  does  not  exist  in  the  other. 
There  are  two  appeals  from  an  unconstitutional  act  passed  by 
Congress — one  to  the  judiciary,  the  other  to  the  people  and  the 
States.  There  is  no  appeal  from  the  State  decision  in  theory, 
and  the  practical  illustration  shows  that  the  courts  are  closed 
against  an  application  to  review  it,  both  judges  and  jurors  being 
sworn  to  decide  in  its  favor.  But  reasoning  on  this  subject  is 
superfluous,  when  our  social  compact,  in  express  terms,  declares 
that  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  its  Constitution,  and  treaties 
made  under  it, 'Are  the  supreme  law  of  the  land;  and,  for  the 
greater  caution,  adds  "that  the  judges  in  every  State  shall  be 
bound  thereby,  anything  in  the  Constitution  or  laws  of  any 
State  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding."  And  it  may  be  asserted 
without  fear  of  refutation,  that  .no  Federal  Government  could 
exist  without  a  similar  provision.  Look  for  a  moment  to  the 
consequence.  If  South  Carolina  considers  the  revenues  uncon- 
stitutional, and  has  a  right  to  prevent  their  execution  in  the 
port  of  Charleston,  there  would  be  a  clear  constitutional  objec- 
tion to  their  collection  in  every  other  port,  and  no  revenue  could 
be  collected  anywhere;  for  all  imposts  must  be  er|ual.  It  is  no 
answer  to  repeat,  that  an  unconstitutional  law  is  no  law,  so  long 
as  the  question  of  its  legality  is  to  be  decided  by  the  State  itself; 
for  every  law  operating  injuriously  upon  any  local  interest  will 
be  perhaps  thought,  and  certainly  represented,  as  unconstitu- 
tional, and,  as  has  been  shown,  there  is  no  appeal. 

If  this  doctrine  had  been  established  at  an  earlier  day,  the 
Union  would  have  been  dissolved  in  its  infancy.  The  excise 
law  in  Penn.sylvania,  the  embargo  and  non-intercourse  law  in 
the  eastern  States,  tlie  carriage  tax  in  Virginia,  were  all  deemed 
unconstitutional,  and  were  more  unequal  in  their  operation  than 
any  of  the  laws  now  complained   of;    but   fortunately   none  of 


176  I'Ui.ci.AM.vriox  (n    ANui:i.\v  jacksox. 

those  States  discovered  tlnit  tluiv  liiid  the  ri^ht  now  claimed  hy 
South  C'arolina.  'J'he  war  into  which  we  were  lorced  to  support 
the  dignity  ol'  the  nution  and  the  rights  of  our  citizen--,  might 
have  ended  in  defeat  and  disi^race  instead  of  victory  and  iionor, 
if  the  States  who  snpposed  it  a  ruinous  and  uiieoiistitutional 
measure,  had  thought  they  possessed  the  right  of  nullifying  the 
act  by  which  ic  was  declared,  and  denying  supplies  for  its  prose- 
cution. Hardly  and  unequally  as  those  measures  bore  upou 
several  members  of  the  Union,  to  the  legislatures  of  none  did 
this  efficient  and  peaceable  remedy,  as  it  is  called,  suggest  itself. 
The  discovery  of  this  important  feature  in  our  Constitution  was 
reserved  to  the  present  day.  To  the  statesmen  of  South  Caro- 
lina belongs  the  invention,  and  upon  the  citizens  of  that  State 
will  unfortunately  i'all  the  evils  of  reducing  it  to  practice. 

If  the  doctrine  of  a  State  veto  upon  the  laws  of  the  Unioa 
carries  witii  it  internal  evidence  of  its  impracticable  absurdity, 
our  Constitutional  history  will  also  afford  abundant  proof  that 
it  would  have  been  repudiated  with  indignation,  had  it  been 
proposed  to  form  a  feature  in  our  Government. 

In  our  colonial  state,  although  dependent  on  another  power, 
we  very  early  considered  ourselves  as  connected  by  common 
interest  with  each  other.  Leagues  were  formed  for  common 
defence,  and,  before  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  we  were 
known  in  our  aggregate  character  as  the  Lnited  Colonies  of 
America.  That  decisive  and  important  step  was  taken  jointly. 
We  declared  ourselves  a  nation  by  a  joint,  not  by  several  acts, 
and  when  the  terms  of  our  Confederation  were  reduced  to  form, 
it  was  that  of  a  solemn  league  of  several  States,  by  which  they 
agreed  that  they  would  collectively  form  one  nation  for  the  pur- 
pose of  conducting  smiie  certain  don\e.stic  concerns  and  all  for- 
eign relations.  In  the  instrument  forming  that  Union  is  found 
an  article  which  declares  that  ''every  State  shall  abide  by  the 
determination  of  Congress  on  all  questions  which,  by  that  Con- 
federation, should  be  submitted  to  them." 

Under  the  Confederation,  then,  no  State  could  legally  annul 
a  decision  of  the  Congress,  or  refuse  to  submit  to  its  execution; 
but  no  provision  was  made  to  enforce  these  decisions.  Congress 
made  requisitions,  but  they  were  not  complied  with.  'J'he  Gov- 
ernment could  not  operate  on  individuals.  'I'hey  had  no  judi- 
ciary, no  means  of  collecting  revenue. 

But  the  defects  of  the  Confederation  need  not  be  detailed. 
Under  its  operation  we  could  scarce!}'  be  called  a  nation.  We 
had  neither  prosperity  at  home  nor  consideration  abroad.  This 
state  of  things  could  not  bo  endured,  and  our  present  happy 
Constitution  was  formed,  but  formed  in  vain,  if  this  fatal  doc- 
trine prevails.  It  was  formed  for  important  objects  that  are 
announced  in  the  preamble  made  in  the  name  and  by  the  authority 


FROOLAMATIOX    OF    ANDREW   JACKSOX.  177 

of  the  people  of  the  United  States,  whose  delegates  framed,  and 
whose  conventions  approved  it.  The  most  important  among 
these  objects,  that  which  is  placed  first  in  rank,  on  which  all 
Others  rest,  is,  "  to  form  a  more  perfect  Union."  Now,  is  it 
possible  that  even  if  there  were  no  express  pi-ovision  giving  su- 
premacy to  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  United  States — can 
it  be  conceived,  that  an  instrument  made  for  the  purpose  of 
'•forming  a  more  perfect  Union"  than  that  of  the  Confederation, 
could  be  so  constructed  by  the  assembled  wisdom  of  our  coun- 
try as  to  substitute  for  that  Confederation  a  form  of  government 
dependent  for  its  existence  on  the  local  interest,  the  party  spirit 
of  a  State,  or  of  a  prevailing  faction  in  a  State?  Every  man  of 
plain,  unsophisticated  understanding,  who  hears  the  question, 
will  give  such  an  answer  as  will  preserve  the  Union.  Meta- 
physical subtlety,  in  pursuit  of  an  impracticable  theory,  could 
alone  have  devised  one  that  is  calculated  to  destroy  it. 

I  consider,  then,  the  power  to  annul  a  law  of  the  United 
States,  assumed  by  one  State,  incompatible  with  the  existence 
of  the  Union,  contradicted  expressly  by  the  letter  of  the  Con- 
stitution, unauthorized  by  its  spirit,  inconsistent  with  every 
principle  on  which  it  was  founded,  and  destructive  of  the  great 
object  for  which  it  was  formed. 

After  this  general  view  of  the  leading  principle,  we  must  ex- 
amine the  particular  application  of  it  which  is  made  in  the 
ordinan^-e. 

The  preamble  rests  its  justification  on  these  grounds:  It  as- 
sumes, as  a  fact,  that  the  obnoxious  laws,  although  they  purport 
to  be  laws  for  raising  revenue,  were  in  reality  intended  for  the 
protection  of  manufacturers,  which  purpose  it  asserts  to  be  un- 
constitutional; that  the  operation  of  these  laws  is  unequal; 
that  the  amount  raised  by  them  is  greater  than  is  required  by 
the  wants  of  the  Government;  and,  finally,  that  the  proceeds 
are  to  be  applied  to  objects  unauthorized  by  the  Constitution. 
These  are  the  only  causes  alleged  to  justify  an  open  opposition 
to  the  laws  of  the  country,  and  a  threat  of  seceding  from  the 
Union,  if  any  attempt  should  be  made  to  enforce  them.  The 
first  virtually  acknowledges  that  the  law  in  question  was  passed 
under  a  power  expressly  given  by  the  Constitution  to  lay  and 
collect  imposts ;  but  its  constitutionality  is  drawn  in  question 
from  the  motives  of  those  who  passed  it.  However  apparent 
this  purpose  may  be  in  the  present  case,  nothing  can  be  more 
dangerous  than  to  admit  the  position  that  an  unconstitutional 
purpose,  entertained  by  the  members  who  assent  to  a  law  en- 
acted under  constitutional  pawer,  shall  make  the  law  void:  for 
how  is  that  purpose  to  be  ascertained  ?  How  often  may  bad 
purposes  be  falsely  imputed, — in  how  many  cases  are  they  con- 
cealed by  false  professions,. — in  how  many  is  no  declaration  of 
12 


178  TROCI.AMATION  OF  ANDRKW   JACKSON. 

motive  made  ?  Admit  this  doctrine,  and  you  give  to  the  States 
an  uncontrolled  rij^lit  to  decide,  and  every  law  may  be  annulled 
under  this  pretext.  If,  therefore,  the  absurb  and  dan<rerou8 
doctrine  should  bo  admitted,  that  a  State  may  annul  an  uncon- 
stitutional law,  or  one  that  it  deems  such,  it  will  not  apply  to 
the  present  case. 

The  next  objection  is,  that  the  laws  in  question  operate  une- 
qually. This  objection  may  be  made  with  truth  to  every  law 
that  has  been  or  may  be  passed.  The  wisdom  of  man  never  yet 
contrived  a  system  of  taxation  that  would  operate  with  perfect 
equality.  If  the  unequal  operation  of  a  law  makes  it  unconsti- 
tutional, and  if  all  laws  of  that  description  may  be  abrogated 
by  any  State  for  that  cause,  then  indeed  is  the  Federat  Consti- 
tution unworthy  the  slighest  effort  for  its  preservation.  We 
have  hitherto  relied  on  it  as  the  perpetual  bond  of  our  Union. 
We  have  received  it  as  the  work  of  the  assembled  wisdom  of 
the  nation.  We  have  trusted  to  it  as  the  sheet  anchor  of  our 
safety  in  the  stormy  times  of  conflict  with  a  foreign  or  domestic 
foe.  We  have  looked  to  it  with  sacred  awe  as  the  palladium  of 
our  liberties,  and  with  all  the  solemnities  of  religion  have 
pledged  to  each  other  our  lives  and  fortunes  here,  and  our 
hopes  of  happiness  hereafter,  in  its  defence  and  support.  Were 
we  mistaken,  my  countrymen,  in  attaching  this  importance  to 
the  Constitution  of  our  country?  Was  our  devotion  paid  to  the 
wretched,  inefficient,  clumsy,  contrivance  which  this  new  doc- 
trine would  make  it  ?  Did  we  pledge  ourselves  to  the  support 
of  an  airy  nothing, — a  bubble  that  must  be  blown  away  by  the 
first  breath  of  dissatisfivction  ?  Was  this  self-destroying,  vis- 
ionary theory,  the  work  of  the  profound  statesmen,  the  exalted 
patriots,  to  whom  the  task  of  constitutional  reform  was  entrust- 
ed ?  Did  the  name  of  Washington  sanction,  did  the  States 
deliberately  ratify  such  an  anamoly  in  the  history  of  fundamen- 
tal legislation?  No.  We  were  not  mistaken.  The  letter  of 
this  great  instrument  is  free  from  this  radical  fault;  its  lan- 
guage directly  contradicts  the  imputation;  its  spirit, — its  evi- 
dent intent,  contradicts  it.  No,  we  did  not  err  I  Our  Constitu- 
tion does  not  contain  the  absurdity  of  giving  power  to  make 
laws,  and  another  power  to  resist  them.  The  sages  whose  mem- 
ory will  always  be  reverenced,  have  given  us  a  practical,  and, 
a.s  they  hoped,  a  permanent  constitutional  compact.  The  Father 
of  his  Country  did  not  affix  his  revered  name  to  so  palpable  an 
absurdity.  Nor  did  the  States,  when  they  severally  ratified  it, 
do  80  under  the  impression  that  a  veto  on  the  laws  of  the  United 
States,  was  reserved  to  them,  or  that  they  could  exercise  it  by 
implication.  Search  the  debates  in  all  their  conventions,  exam- 
ine the  speeches  of  the  most  zealous  opposers  of  federal  author- 
ity, look  at  the  amendments  that  were  proposed, — they  are  all 


PROCLAMATIOX  OF  ANDREW  JACKSOX.  179 

silent, — not  a  syllable  uttered,  not  a  vote  given,  not  a  motion 
made,  to  correct  the  explicit  supremacy  given  to  the  laws  of  the 
Union  over  those  of  the  States,  or  to  show  that  implication,  as 
is  now  contended,  could  defeat  it.  No,  we  have  not  erred  I  The 
Constitution  is  still  the  object  of  our  reverence,  the  bond  of  our 
Union,  our  defence  in  danger,  the  source  of  our  prosperity  in 
peace ;  it  shall  descend  as  we  have  received  it,  uncorrupted  by 
sophistical  construction,  to  our  posterity,  and  the  sacrifices  of 
local  interest,  of  State  prejudices,  of  personal  animosities,  that 
were  made  to  bring  it  into  existence,  will  again  be  patriotically 
offered  for  its  support. 

The  two  remaining  objections  made  by  the  ordinance  to  these 
laws,  are  that  the  sums  intended  to  be  raised  by  them  are  greater 
than  are  required,  and  that  the  proceeds  will  be  unconstitution- 
ally employed. 

The  Constitution  has  given,  expressly,  to  Congress  the  right 
of  raising  revenue,  and  of  determinining  the  sum  the  public 
exigencies  will  require.  The  States  have  no  control  over  the 
exercise  of  this  right,  other  than  that  which  results  from  the 
power  of  changing  the  representatives  who  abuse  it,  and  thus 
procure  redress.  Congress  may,  undoubtedly,  abuse  this  dis- 
cretionary power ;  but  the  same  may  be  said  of  others  with  which 
they  are  vested.  Yet  this  discretion  must  exist  somewhere. 
The  Constitution  has  given  it  to  the  representatives  of  all  the 
people,  checked  by  the  representatives  of  the  States  and  by  the 
executive  power.  The  South  Carolina  construction  gives  it  to 
the  legislature  or  the  convention  of  a  single  State,  where  neither 
the  people  of  the  different  States,  nor  the  States  in  their  sepa- 
rate capacity,  nor  the  chief  magistrate  elected  by  the  people, 
have  any  representation.  Which  is  the  most  discreet  disposi- 
tion of  the  power?  I  do  not  ask  you,  fellow-citizens,  which  is 
the  constitutional  disposition — that  instrument  speaks  a  lan- 
guage not  to  be  misunderstood.  But  if  you  were  assembled  in 
general  convention,  which  would  you  think  the  safest  depository 
of  this  discretionary  power  in  the  last  resort?  Would  you  add 
a  clause  giving  it  to  each  of  the  States,  or  would  you  sanction 
the  wise  provisions  already  made  by  your  Constitution  ?  If  this 
should  be  the  result  of  your  deliberations  when  providing  for 
the  future,  are  you,  can  you  be  ready  to  risk  all  that  we  hold 
dear  to  establish,  for  a  temporary  and  a  local  purpose,  that 
which  you  must  acknowledge  to  be  destructive,  and  even  absurd, 
as  a  general  provision?  Carry  out  the  consequences  of  this 
right  vested  in  the  different  States,  and  you  must  perceive  that 
the  crisis  your  conduct  presents  at  this  day  would  recur  when- 
ever any  law  of  the  United  States  displeased  any  of  the  States, 
and  that  we  should  soon  cease  to  be  a  nation. 

The  ordinance,  with  the  same  knowledge  of  the  future  that 


180  PROCLAMATION    OF   ANDPwEW   JACKS05. 

characterizes  a  former  objection,  tells  you  tliat  the  proceeds  of 
the  tax  will  be  unconstitutionally  applied.  If  this  could  be 
ascertained  with  certainty,  the  objection  would,  with  more  pro- 
priety, be  reserved  for  the  law  so  applying  the  proceeds,  but 
surely  can  not  bo  urged  against  the  laws  levying  the  duty. 

These  are  the  allegations  contained  in  the  ordinance.  Ex- 
amine them  seriously,  my  fellow-citizens;  judge  fur  yourselves. 
1  appeal  to  you  to  determine  whether  they  ate  so  clear,  so  con- 
vincing, as  to  leave  no  doubt  of  their  correctness;  and  even  if 
you  should  come  to  this  conclusion,  how  far  they  justify  the 
reckless,  destructive  course  which  you  are  directed  to  pursue. 
Review  these  objections,  and  the  conclusions  drawn  from  them, 
once  more.  What  are  tlicy  ?  Every  law,  tlicn,  for  raising  rev- 
enue, according  to  the  South  Carolina  ordinance,  may  be  right- 
fully annulled,  unless  it  bo  so  framed  as  no  law  ever  will  or  can 
be  framed.  Congress  have  a  right  to  pass  laws  for  rai.sing  a 
revenue,  and  each  State  has  a  right  to  oppose  their  execution  — 
two  rights  directly  opposed  to  each  other;  and  yet  is  this  ab- 
surdity supposed  to  be  contained  in  an  instrument  drawn  for 
the  express  purpose  of  avoiding  collisions  between  the  States 
and  the  General  governuient,  by  an  assembly  of  the  most  en- 
lightened statesmen  and  purest  patriots  ever  embodied  for  a 
similar  purpose. 

In  vain  have  these  sages  declared  that  Congress  shall  have 
power  to  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and  excises;  in 
vain  have  they  provided  that  they  shall  have  power  to  pass  lawa 
which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper  to  carry  those  powers  into 
execution;  that  those  laws  and  that  Constitution  shall  be  the 
"supreme  law  of  the  land,  and  that  the  judges  in  everv  State 
shall  be  bound  thcre])y,  anything  in  the  Constitution  or  laws  of 
any  State  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding."  In  vain  have  the 
people  of  the  several  States  solemnly  sanctified  these  provisions, 
made  them  their  paramount  law,  and  individually  sworn  to  sup- 
port them  whenever  they  were  called  on  to  execute  any  office. 
Vain  provision!  ineffectual  restrictions!  vile  profanation  of 
oaths!  miserable  mockery  of  legislation!  if  the  bare  majority 
of  the  voters  in  any  one  State  may,  on  a  real  or  supposed 
knowledge  of  the  intent  with  which  a  law  has  been  passed,  de- 
clare themselves  free  from  its  operation  —  say  here  it  gives  too 
little,  there  too  much,  and  operates  unequally  —  here  it  suOers 
articles  to  be  free  that  ought  to  be  taxed  —  there  it  taxes  those 
that  ought  to  be  free  —  in  this  case  the  proceeds  are  intended 
to  be  applied  to  purposes  which  we  do  not  approve  —  in  that  the 
amount  raised  is  more  than  is  wanted.  Congress,  it  is  true,  are 
invested  by  the  Constitution  with  the  right  of  deciding  these 
questions  according  to  their  6«und  discretion;  Congress  is  com- 
posed of  the  representatives   of  all  the  States,  and  of  all  the 


PROCT..VMATION    OF   ANDREW  JACKSON.  181 

people  of  all  the  States;  but  we,  part  of  the  people  of  one 
btate,  to  whom  the  Constitution  has  given  no  power  on  the  sub- 
ject, from  whom  it  has  expressly  taken  it  away  —  we,  who  have 
solemnly  agreed  that  this  Constitution  shall  be  our  law  —  we, 
most  of  whom  have  sworn  to  support  it  —  we  noAv  abrogate  this 
law,  and  swear,  and  force  others  to  swear  that  it  shall  not  be 
obeyed;  and  v,e  do  this,  not  because  Congress  have  no  right  to 
pass  such  laws  —  this  we  do  not  alledge  —  but  because  they 
have  passed  them  with  improper  views.  They  are  unconstitu- 
tional from  the  motives  of  those  who  passed  them,  which  we 
can  never  with  certainty  know;  from  their  unequal  operation, 
although  it  is  impossible,  from  the  nature  of  things,  that  they 
should  be  equal;  and  from  the  disposition  which  we  presume 
may  be  made  of  their  proceeds,  although  that  disposition  has 
not  been  declared.  This  is  the  pkiin  meaning  of  the  ordinance, 
in  relation  to  laws  which  it  abrogates  for  alleged  unconstitu- 
tionality. But  it  does  not  stop  there.  It  repeals,  in  express 
terms,  an  important  part  of  the  Constitution  itself,  and  of  laws 
passed  to  give  it  effect,  which  have  never  been  alleged  to  be  un- 
constitutional. The  Constitution  declares  that  the  judicial 
powers  of  the  United  States  extend  to  cases  arising  under  the 
laws  of  the  United  States;  and  that  such  laws,  the  Constitution 
and  treaties,  shall  be  paramount  to  the  State  Constitutions  and 
laws.  The  judiciary  act  prescribes  the  mode  by  which  the  case 
may  be  brought  before  a  court  of  the  United  States  by  appeal, 
when  a  State  tribunal  shall  decide  against  this  provision  of  the 
Constitution.  The  ordinance  declares  that  there  shall  be  no 
appeal,  makes  the  State  law  paramount  to  the  Constitution  and 
laws  of  the  United  States,  forces  judges  and  jurors  to  swear 
that  they  will  disregard  their  provisions,  and  even  makes  it 
penal  in  a  suit  to  attempt  relief  by  appeal.  It  further  declares 
that  it  shall  not  be  lawful  for  the  authorities  of  the  United 
States,  or  of  that  State,  to  enforce  the  payment  of  duties  im- 
posed by  the  revenue  laws  within  its  limits. 

Here  is  a  law  of  the  United  States,  not  even  pretended  to  be 
unconstitutional,  repealed  by  the  authority  of  a  small  majority 
of  the  voters  of  a  single  State.  Here  is  a  provision  of  the  Con- 
stitution, which  is  solemnly  abrogated  by  the  same  authority. 

On  such  expositions  and  reasonings,  the  ordinance  grounds 
not  only  an  assertion  of  the  right  to  annul  the  laws,  of  which  it 
complains,  but  to  enforc*  it  by  a  threat  of  seceding  from  the 
Union,  if  any  attempt  is  made  to  execute  them. 

This  right  to  secede  is  deduced  from  the  nature  of  the  Con- 
stitution, which  they  say  is  a  compact  between  sovereign  States, 
who  have  preserved  their  whole  sovereignty,  and  therefore  are 
subject  to  no  superior ;  that  because  they  made  the  compact, 
they  can  break  it,  when,  in  their  opinion,  it  has  been   departed 


182  PROCLAMATION    OF    ANDREW    JACKSON. 

from  by  the  other  States.  Fallacious  as  this  course  of  reason- 
ing is,  it  enlists  State  pride,  and  finds  advocates  in  the  honest 
prejudices  of  those  who  have  not  studied  the  nature  of  our  gov- 
ernment sufficiently  to  see  the  radical  error  on  which  it  rests. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  formed  the  Constitution,  act- 
ing through  the  State  Legislatures  in  forming  the  compact,  to 
meet  and  discuss  its  provisions,  and  acting  in  separate  conven- 
tions when  they  ratified  those  provisions  ;  but  the  terms  used 
in  its  construction  show  it  to  be  a  government  in  which  the 
people  of  all  the  States  collectively  are  represented.  We  are 
one  people  in  the  choice  of  President  and  Vice  President. 
Uere  the  States  have  no  other  agency  than  to  direct  the  mode 
in  which  the  votes  shall  be  given.  The  candidates  having  a 
majority  of  all  the  votes  are  chosen.  The  electors  of  amajority 
of  States  may  have  given  their  votes  for  one  candidate,  and  yet 
another  may  be  chosen.  The  people,  then,  and  not  the  States, 
are  represented  in  the  executive  branch. 

In  the  House  of  llepres^jntatives  there  is  this  difference,  that 
the  people  of  one  State  do  not,  as  in  the  case  of  President  and 
Vice  President,  all  vote  for  the  same  officers.  The  people  of 
all  the  States  do  not  vote  for  all  the  members,  each  State  elect- 
ing only  its  own  representatives.  But  this  creates  no  national 
distinction.  When  chosen,  they  are  all  representatives  of  the 
United  States,  not  representatives  of  the  particular  State  from 
whence  they  come.  They  are  paid  by  the  United  States,  not  by 
the  State ;  nor  are  they  accountable  to  it  for  any  act  done  in  the 
performance  of  their  legislative  functions;  and  however  they 
may  in  practice,  as  it  is  their  duty  to  do,  consult  and  prefer  the 
interests  of  their  particular  constituents,  when  they  come  in 
conflict  with  any  other  partial  or  local  interest,  yet  it  is  the  first 
and  highest  duty,  of  a  representative  of  the  United  States  to 
promote  the  general  good. 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  then,  forms  a  govern- 
ment, not  a  league;  and  whether  it  be  formed  by  compact  be- 
tween the  States,  or  in  any  other  manner,  its  character  is  the 
same.  It  is  a  government  in  which  all  the  people  are  repre- 
sented, which  operates  directly  on  the  people  individually,  not 
upon  the  States;  they  retained  all  the  power  they  didnotgrant. 
But  each  Stat«  having  expressly  parted  with  so  many  powers,  as 
to  constitute  jointly  with  the  other  States  a  single  nation,  can 
not  from  that  period  possess  any  right  to  secede,  because  such 
secession  does  not  break  a  league,  but  destroys  the  unity  of  a 
nation;  and  any  injury  to  that  unity  is  not  only  a  breach, 
•which  would  result  from  the  contravention  of  a  compact,  but  it 
is  an  offense  against  the  whole  Union.  To  say  that  any  State 
may  at  pleasure  secede  from  the  Union,  is  to  say  that  the  United 
States  are  not  a  nation ;  because  it  would  be  a  solecism  to  contend, 


PEOCLAMATIOX    OF   ANDUEW   JACKSON.  183 

that  any  part  of  a  nation  might  dissolve  its  connection  with  the 
other  parts,  to  their  injury  or  ruin,  without  committing  any 
offense.  Secession,  like  any  other  revolutionary  act,  may  be 
morally  justified  by  the  extremity  of  oppression;  but  to  call  it 
a  constitutional  right,  is  confounding  the  meaning  of  the  terms; 
and  can  only  bo  done  through  gross  error,  or  to  deceive  those 
who  are  willing  to  assert  a  right,  but  wuuld  pause  before  they 
made  a  revolution,  or  incur  the  penalties  consequent  on  a  failure. 

Because  the  Union  was  formed  by  compact,  it  is  said  the  par- 
ties to  that  compact  may,  when  they  feel  themselves  aggrieved, 
depart  from  it;  but  it  is  precisely  because  it  is  a  compact,  that 
they  can  not.  A  compact  is  an  agreement,  or  binding  obliga- 
tion. It  may,  by  its  terms,  have  a  sanction  or  penalty  for  its 
breach,  or  it  may  not.  If  it  contains  no  sanction,  it  may  be 
broken  with  no  other  consequence  than  moral  guilt;  if  it  have 
a  sanction,  then  the  breach  incurs  the  designated  or  implied 
penalty.  A  league  between  independent  nations  generally  has 
no  sanction,  other  than  a  moral  one;  or,  if  it  should  contain  a 
penalty,  as  there  is  no  common  superior,  it  can  not  be  enforced. 
A  government,  on  the  contrary,  always  has  a  sanction,  express 
or  implied;  and  in  our  case,  it  is  both  necessarily  implied,  and 
expressly  given.  An  attempt  by  force  of  arms  to  destroy  a 
government,  is  an  offense,  by  whatever  means  the  constitutional 
compact  may  have  been  formed;  and  such  government  has  the 
right,  by  the  law  of  self  defense,  to  pass  acts  for  punishing  the 
offender,  unless  that  right  is  modified,  restrained  or  resumed  by 
the  constitutional  act.  In  our  system,  although  it  is  modified, 
in  the  case  of  treason,  yet  authority  is  expressly  given  to  pass 
all  laws  necessary  to  carry  its  powers  into  effect,  and  under  this 
grant  provision  has  been  made  for  punishing  acts,  which  obstruct 
the  due  administration  of  the  laws. 

It  would  seem  superfluous  to  add  anything  to  show  the  nature 
of  that  Union,  which  connects  us;  but  as  erroneous  opinions  on 
this  subject  are  the  foundation  of  doctrines  the  most  destructive 
to  our  peace,  I  must  give  further  development  to  my  views  on 
this  subject.  No  one,  fellow-citizens,  has  a  higher  reverence 
for  the  reserved  rights  of  the  States,  than  the  magistrate  who 
now  addresses  you.  No  one  would  make  greater  personal  sacri- 
fices or  official  exertion  to  defend  them  from  violation  ;  but  equal 
care  must  be  taken  to  prevent,  on  their  part,  an  improper  inter- 
ference with,  or  resumption  of  the  rights  they  have  vested  in 
the  nation.  The  line  has  not  been  so  distinctly  drawn,  as  to 
aroid  doubts  in  some  cases  of  the  exercise  of  power.  Men  of 
the  best  intentions  and  soundest  views  may  differ  in  their  con- 
struction of  some  parts  of  the  Constitution  ;  but  there  are  others 
on  which  dispassionate  reflection  can  leave  no  dougt.  Of  this 
nature  appears  to  be  the  assumed  right   of  secession.     It  rests, 


184  rrtOCLAMATIO.V    of    ANDKEW    JACKSON. 

as  we  have  soen,  on  the  alleged  undivided  sovereignty  of  the 
States,  and  on  their  having  formed,  in  this  sovereij^n  capacity, 
a  compact,  whicli  is  called  the  Constitution,  from  which,  because 
they  made  it,  thoy  have  the  right  to  secede.  Hoth  of  these  po- 
sitions are  erroneous,  and  some  of  the  arguments  to  prove  them 
so  have  heen  anticipated. 

The  States  severally  have  not  retained  their  entire  sovereignty. 
It  has  been  shown  that,  in  becoming  parts  of  a  nation,  not  mem- 
bers of  a  league,  they  surrendered  many  of  their  essential  parts 
of  sovereignty.  The  right  to  make  treaties,  declare  war,  levy 
taxes,  ozercisc  exclusive  judicial  and  legislative  powers,  were 
all  of  them  functions  of  sovereign  power.  The  Stato-s,  then,  for 
ail  these  purposes,  were  no  longer  sovereign.  The  allegiance  of 
their  citizens  was  transferred,  in  the  first  instance,  to  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States;  they  became  American  citizens, 
and  owed  obedience  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
and  to  laws  made  in  conformity  with  the  powers  it  vested  in 
Congress.  This  last  position  has  not  been,  and  can  not  be  de- 
nied, llow,  then,  can  that  State  be  said  to  be  sovereign  and 
independent  whose  citizens  owe  obedience  to  laws  not  made  by 
it,  and  whose  magistrates  are  sworn  to  disregard  those  laws 
when  they  come  in  conflict  with  those  passed  by  another?  What 
shows  conclusively  that  the  States  can  not  be  said  to  have  re- 
served an  undivided  sovereignty,  is,  that  they  expressly  ceded 
the  right  tri  punish  treason,  not  treason  against  their  separate 
power,  but  treason  against  the  United  States.  Treason  is  an 
-offense  against  sovereignty,  and  sovereignty  must  reside  with' 
the  power  to  punish  it.  But  the  reserved  rights  of  the  States 
are  not  less  sacred  because  they  have,  for  their  common  interest, 
made  the  (loneral  (Jovernment   the  depository  of  these  powers. 

The  unity  of  our  political  character  (as  has  been  shown  for 
another  purpose)  commenced  with  its  very  existence.  Under 
the  royal  government  we  had  no  separate  character:  our  oppo- 
sition to  its  oppressions  began  as  united  colomes.  Wo  were  the 
United  States  under  the  Confederation,  and  the  name  was  per- 
petuated, and  the  Union  rendered  more  perfect  by  the  Federal 
Constitution.  In  none  of  these  stages  did  we  consider  ourselves 
in  any  other  light  than  as  forming  one  nation.  Treaties  and 
uliiances  were  made  in  the  name  of  all.  Troops  were  raised  for 
il)c  joint  defence.  How,  then,  with  all  these  proofs,  that  under 
all  changes  of  our  position  we  had,  for  designated  purposes  and 
with  defined  powers,  created  national  governments;  how  is  it, 
that  the  most  perfect  of  those  several  modes  of  union  should 
now  be  considered  as  a  mere  league,  that  may  be  dissolved  at 
pleasure?  It  is  from  an  abuse  of  terms.  "Compact"  is  used 
as  synonymous  with  "league,"  although  the  true  term  is  not 
employed,  because  it  would  at  once  show  the  fallacy  of  the  rea- 


Pr.OCLAifATIOX  01''  AKDREW  JACKSON.  185 

Boning.  It  would  not  do  to  say  that  our  Constitution  was  only 
a  league;  but  it  ig  labored  to  prove  it  a  compact  (which  in  one 
sense  it  is,)  and  then  to  arj;ue  that,  as  a  league  is  a  compact, 
every  compact  between  nations  must  of  course  be  a  league,  and 
that  from  such  an  engagement  every  sovereign  power  has  a  right 
to  recede.  Hut  it  has  been  shown,  that  in  this  sense  the  States 
are  not  sovereign,  and  that  even  if  they  were,  and  the  national 
Constitution  had  been  funned  by  compact,  there  would  be  no 
right  in  any  one  State  to  exonerate  itself  from  its  obligations. 

So  obvious  are  the  reasons  which  forbid  this  secession,  that 
it  is  necessary  only  to  allude  to  them.  The  Union  was  formed 
for  the  benefit  of  all.  It  was  produced  by  mutual  sacrifices  of 
interests  and  opinions.  Can  those  sacrifices  be  recalled?  Can 
the  States,  who  magnanimously  surrender  their  title  to  the  ter- 
ritories in  the  West,  recall  the  grant  ?  Will  the  inhabitants  of 
the  inland  States  agree  to  pay  the  duties,  that  may  be  imposed 
without  their  assent,  by  those  on  the  Atlantic  or  the  Gulf,  for 
their  own  benefit?  Shall  there  be  a  free  port  in  one  State,  and 
onerous  duties  in  another?  No  one  believes  that  any  right  ex- 
ists, in  a  single  State,  to  involve  the  others  in  these  and  count- 
less other  evils,  contrary  to  the  engagements  solemnly  made. 
Every  one  must  see  that  the  other  States,  in  self-defence,  must 
oppose  it  at  all  hazards. 

These  are  the  alternatives  that  are  presented  by  the  conven- 
tion: A  repeal  of  a,ll  the  acts  for  raising  revenue,  leaving  the 
Government  without  the  means  of  support,  or  an  acquiescence 
in  the  dissolution  of  our  Union  by  the  secep.-^ion  of  one  of  its 
members.  When  the  first  was  proposed,  it  was  known  that  it 
could  not  be  listened  to  for  a  moment.  It  wr.s  known,  if  force 
was  applied  to  oppose  the  execution  of  tiie  laws,  that  it  must  be 
repelled  by  force;  that  Congress  could  not,  without  involving 
itself  in  disgrace,  and  the  country  in  ruin,  accede  to  the  prop- 
osition; and  yet,  if  this  is  not  done  on  a  given  day,  or  if  any 
attempt  is  made  to  execute  the  laws,  the  State  is,  by  the  ordi- 
nance, declared  to  be  out  of  the  Union.  The  majority  of  a  con- 
vention assembled  for  the  purpose  have  dictated  these  terms,  or 
rather  this  rejection  of  all  terms,  in  the  name  of  the  people  of 
South  Carolina.  It  is  true  that  the  Governor  of  the  State  speaks 
of  the  submission  of  their  grievances  to  a  convention  of  all  the 
States,  which,  he  says,  they  "sincerely  and  anxiously  seek  and 
desire."  Yet  this  obvious  and  constitutional  mode  of  obtaining 
the  sense  of  the  other  States,  on  the  construction  of  the  Federal 
compact,  and  amending  it  if  necessary,  has  never  been  attempt- 
ed by  those  who  have  urged  the  State  on  to  this  destructive 
measure.  The  State  might  have  proposed  to  call  for  a  general 
convention  of  the  other  States;  and  Congress,  if  a  sufficient 
number  of  them  concurred,  must  have  called  it.     But  the  first 


186  PKOCLAMATION  OF  ANDKKW  JACKSOV. 

magistrate  of  South  Carolina,  when  he  expressed  a  hope  that, 
"on  a  review  by  Congress  nnd  the  functionaries  of  the  general 
government  of  the  merits  of  the  controversy,"  such  a  conven- 
tion will  be  accorded  to  them,  must  have  known  that  neither 
Congress,  nor  any  functionary  of  the  general  government,  has 
authority  to  call  such  a  convention,  unless  it  be  demanded  by 
two-thirds  of  the  States.  This  suggestion,  then,  is  another  in- 
stance of  the  reckless  inattention  to  the  provisions  of  the  Con- 
stitution, with  which  this  crisis  has  been  madly  hurried  on;  or 
of  the  attempt  to  persuade  the  people  that  a  constitutional  rem- 
edy has  been  sought  and  refused.  If  the  Legislature  of  South 
Carolina  "anxiously  desire"  a  general  convention  to  consider 
their  complaint^s,  why  have  they  not  made  application  for  it,  in 
the  way  the  Constitution  points  out?  The  assertion  that  tliey 
''earnestly  seek"  it,  is  completely  negatived  by  the  omission. 

This,  then,  is  the  position  in  which  we  stand.  A  small  niM- 
jority  of  the  citizens  of  one  State  in  the  Union  have  elected 
delegates  to  a  State  convention;  that  convention  has  ordained 
that  all  the  revenue  laws  of  the  United  States  must  be  repealed, 
or  that  they  are  no  longer  a  member  of  this  Union.  The  Gov- 
ernor of  that  State  has  recommended  to  the  Legislature  the 
raising  of  an  army  to  carry  the  secession  into  effect,  and  that  he 
may  be  empowered  to  give  clearances  to  vessels  in  the  name  of 
the  State.  Xo  act  of  violent  opposition  to  the  laws  has  yet  been 
committed,  but  such  a  state  of  things  is  hourly  apprehended ; 
and  it  is  the  intent  of  this  instrument  to  proclaim,  not  only  that 
the  duty  imposed  on  me  by  the  Constitution  "  to  take  care  that  the 
laws  be  faithfully  executed,"  shall  be  performed  to  the  extent 
of  the  powers  already  vested  in  me  by  law,  or  of  such  others  as 
the  wisdom  of  Congress  shall  devise  and  entrust  to  me  for  that 
purpose,  but  to  warn  the  citizens  of  South  Carolina  who  have 
been  deluded  into  an  opposition  to  the  laws,  of  the  danger  they 
will  incur  by  obedience  to  the  illegal  and  disorganizing  ordi- 
nance of  the  convention;  to  exhort  those  who  have  refused  to 
support  it  to  persevere  in  their  determination  to  uphold  the  Con- 
stitution and  laws  of  their  country;  and  to  point  out  to  all  the 
perilous  situation  into  which  the  good  people  of  that  State  have 
been  led,  and  that  the  course  they  arc  urged  to  pursue  is  one 
of  ruin  and  disgrace  to  the  very  State  whose  rights  they  affect 
to  support. 

Fellow  citizens  of  my  native  State,  let  me  not  only  admonish 
you,  as  the  First  Magistrate  of  our  common  country,  not  to 
incur  the  penalty  of  its  laws,  but  use  the  influence  that  a  father 
would  over  his  children  whom  he  saw  rushing  to  certain  ruin. 
In  that  paternal  language,  with  tint  paternal  feeling,  let  me  tell 
you,  my  countrymen,  that  you  are  deluded  by  men  who  are 
either   deceived    themselves,  or   wish    to   deceive   you.       Mark 


PROCLAMATION  OF  ANDREW   JACKSON.  187 

under  what  pretences  you  have  been  led  on  to  the  brink  of  in- 
surrection and  treason,  and  on  which  you  stand!  First,  a 
diminution  of  the  value  of  your  staple  commodity,  lowered  by 
over-production  in  other  quarters,  and  the  consequent  diminu- 
tion in  the  value  of  your  lands,  were  the  sole  effect  of  the 
tariff  laws. 

The  effect  of  those  la-ws  was  confessedly  injurious,  but  the 
evil  was  greatly  exaggerated  by  the  unfounded  theory  you  were 
taught  to  believe,  that  its  burthens  were  in  proportion  to  your 
exports,  not  to  your  consumption  of  imported  articles.  Your 
pride  was  roused  by  the  assertion  that  a  submission  to  those 
laws  was  a  state  of  vassalage,  and  that  resistence  to  them  was 
equal,  in  patriotic  merit,  to  the  opposition  our  fathers  offered  to 
the  oppressive  laws  of  Great  Britain.  You  were  told  that  this 
opposition  might  be  peaceably  —  might  be  constitutionally 
made;  that  you  might  enjoy  all  the  advantages  of  the  Union, 
and  bear  none  of  its  burthens.  Eloquent  appeals  to  your  pas- 
sions, to  your  State  pride,  to  your  native  courage,  to  your  sense 
of  real  injury,  were  used,  to  prepare  you  for  the  period  when 
the  mask,  which  concealed  the  hideous  features  of  disunion, 
should  be  taken  off.  It  fell,  and  you  were  made  to  look  with 
complacency  on  objects  which,  not  long  since,  you  would  have 
regarded  with  horror.  Look  back  to  the  arts  which  have 
brought  you  to  this  state  —  look  forward  to  the  consequences  to 
which  it  must  inevitably  lead !  Look  back  to  what  was  first  told 
you  as  an  inducement  to  enter  into  this  dangerous  course.  The 
great  political  truth  was  repeated  to  you,  that  you  had  the  revo- 
lutionary right  of  resisting  all  laws  that  were  palpably  unconsti- 
tutional and  intolerably  oppressive;  it  was  added  that  the  right 
to  nullify  a  law  rested  on  the  same  principle,  but  that  it  was  a 
peaceable  remedy!  This  character  which  was  given  to  it,  made 
you  receive,  with  too  much  confidence,  the  assertions  that  were 
made  of  the  unconstitutionality  of  the  law  and  its  oppressive 
effects.  Mark,  my  fellow-citizens,  that,  by  the  admission  of 
your  leaders,  the  unconstitutionality  must  be  palpable,  or  it  will 
not  justify  either  resistance  or  nullification!  What  is  the 
meaning  of  the  word  palpable,  in  the  sense  in  which  it  is  here 
used?  that  which  is  apparent  to  every  one;  that  which  no  man 
of  ordinary  intellect  will  fail  to  perceive.  Is  the  unconstitu- 
tionality of  these  laws  of  that  description?  Let  those  among 
your  leaders  who  once  approved  and  advocated  the  principle  of 
protective  duties,  answer  the  question;  and  let  them  choose 
whether  they  will  be  considered  as  incapable,  then,  of  perceiv- 
ing that  which  must  have  been  apparent  to  every  man  of  com- 
mon understanding,  or  as  imposing  on  your  confidence,  and  en- 
deavoring to  mislead  you  now.  In  either  case,  they  are  unsafe 
guides  in  the  perilous  path  they  urge  you  to  tread.     Ponder  well 


188  PHOCI.AMATION   OF  ANDKKW  JAPKSON'. 

on  this  circumst.mce,  and  yoii  will  know  how  to  appreciate  the 
exaggcratod  language  they  address  to  you.  'i'lioy  are  not  cham- 
pions of  liherty,  euiulating  the  famo  of  our  revolutionaty 
fathers;  nor  are  you  an  oppressed  people,  contending,  as  they 
repeat  to  you,  against  worse  than  colonial  vawsalage. 

Vou  arc  free  niciiihers  of  a  flouri.'^hing  and  happy  Union. 
Tiiere  is  no  settled  design  to  oppress  you.  You. have  indeed 
telt  the  unequal  operation  of  laws  which  may  have  boon  un- 
wisely, not  uncon.stitutionally  passed;  hut  that" inequality  must 
in'ccBsarily  he  removed.  At  the  very  moment  w.hen  you  were 
madly  urged  on  t-o  the  unfortunate  course  you  have  l>egun,  a 
change  in  public  opinion  had  commenced.  The  nearly  ap- 
proaching payment  of  tlie  pul)lio  debt,  and  the  consequent 
necessity  of  a  diminution  of  duties,  had  already  produced  a 
considerable  reduction,  and  that,  too,  on  some  articles  of  gene- 
ral consumption  in  your  State.  'i"hc  importance  of  this  change 
was  underrated,  and  you  are  authoritatively  told  that  no  further 
alleviation  of  your  burthens  were  to  be  expected  at  the  very 
time  when  the  condition  of  the  country  imperiously  demanded 
such  a  modification  of  tiie  duties  as  should  reduce  theuf  to  a 
just  and  equitable  .scale.  But,  as  if  apprehensive  of  the  eilect 
ot  this  change  in  allaying  your  discontents,  you  were  precipi- 
tated into  the  fearful  state  in  which  you  now  "find  yourselves. 

1  have  urged  you  to  look  back  to  the  means  that  were  used  to 
hurry  you  on  to  the  position  you  have  now  assumed,  and  for 
ward  to  the  consequences  it  will  produce.  Something  more  is 
necci-sary.  Contemplate  tlie  condition  of  that  country  of  which 
you  still  form  an  important  part.  Consider  its  Government, 
uniting  in  one  bond  of  common  interest  and  general  protection 
60  many  different  States, — giving  to  all  their  inhabitants  the 
proud  title  of  American  citizens,  protecting  their  commerce, 
securing  their  literature  and  their  arts;  fecilitating  their  inter- 
communication; defending  their  frontiers,  and  making  their 
names  respected  in  the  remotest  parts  of  the  earth.  Consider 
the  extent  of  its  territory;  its  increasing  and  happy  population; 
its  advance  in  arts,  wliich  render  life  agreeable;  and  the 
sciences,  which  elevate  the  mind!  See  education  spreading  the 
lights  of  relij;ion,  morality,  and  general  information  into  every 
cottage  in  this  wide  cxtrtit  of  our  Territories  and  States!  He 
hold  it  as  the  asylum  where  the  wretched  and  the  oppressed 
find  a  refuge  and  support!  Ivook  on  this  picture  of  happiness 
and  honor,  and  say:  "ire,  too,  are  citizens  of  America! 
Carolina  is  one  of  these  proud  States, —  her  arms  have  de- 
fended,—  her  best  blood  has  cemented  this"  happy  Union!" 
And  then  add,  if  you  can,  without  horror  and  remorse,  "this 
happy  Union  we  will  dissolve;  this  picture  of  peace  and  pros- 
perity we  will  deface;   this   free   intercourse  we  will  interrupt; 


rEOCLAJMTION  OF  AXDRKW  JACKSON.  "      189 

these  fertile  fields  wc  will  deluge  with  blood;  the  protection  of 
that  glorious  flag  we  renounce;  the  very  nftn[ie  of  Americans  we 
discard."     And    for   Avhat,   mistaken    men, —  for   what   do   you 
throw,  away  these  inestimable  blessings?  for  what  would  you 
exchange  your  share  in  the  advantages  and  honor  of  the  Union? 
For  the  dream  of  separate  independence, —  a  dream  interrupted 
by  bloody  conflicts  with  your  neighbors,  and  a  vile  dependence 
on  a  foreign  power.     If  your  leaders  could  succeed  in  establish- 
ing   a   separation,  what   would    be   your   situation?     Are   yon 
united  at  home, —  are  you  free  from  the  apprehension  of  civil 
discord,  with  all  its  fearful  consequences?     Do  our  neighboring, 
republics,  every  day  suffering  some  new  revolution,  or  contend- 
ing with   some   new   insurrection, —  do   they  excite  your  envy  ? 
But  the  dictates  of  a  high  duty  obliges  me  solemnly  to  announce 
that  you  can  not  succeed.     The  laws  of  the  United  States  must 
be  executed.     I  have  no  discretionary  power  on  the  subject, — 
my  duty  is  emphatically  pronounced  in  the  Constitution.     Those 
who  told  you  that  you  might  peaceably  prevent  their  execution, 
deceived  you, —  they  could  not  have  been  deceived  themselves. 
They  know  that  a  forcible  opposition  could  alone  prevent  the 
execution  of  the  laws,  and  they  know  that  such  opposition  must 
be  repelled.     Their  object  is  disunion;  but  be  not  deceived  by 
names;  disunion,  by  armed  force,  is   treason.     Are  you  really 
ready  to  incur  its  guilt?     If  you  arc,  oa  the  heads  of  the  insti- 
gators of  the  act  be  the  dreadful  consequences, —  on  their  heads 
be   the  dishonor,  but  on  yours   may   fall  the   punishment;  on 
your  unhappy  State  will  inevitably  fall  all  the  evils  of  the  con- 
flict you   force  upon  the  government  of  your  country.     It  can 
not  acceed  to  the  mad  project  of  disunion,  of  which  you  would 
be  the  first  victims, —  its  Ftrst  Magistrate  can  not,  if  he  would, 
avoid  the  performance  of  his  duty;  the  consequences  must  be 
fearful  to  you,  distressing  to  your  fellow-citizens  here,  and  to 
the  friends  of  good  government  throughout  the  world.     Its  ene- 
mies have  beheld  our  prosperity  with  a  vexation  they  could  not 
conceal, —  it  was  a  standing  refutation  of  their  slavish  doctrines, 
and  they  will  point  to  our  discord  with  the  triumph  of  malignant 
joy.     It  is  yet  in  your  power  to  disappoint  them.     There  is  yet 
time  to  show  that  the  descendants  of  the  Pinckneys,  the  Snm- 
ters,  the   Kutledges,  and   of  the  thousand  other  names,  wliicb 
adorn  the  pages  of  your  revolutionary  history,  will  not  abandon 
that  Union,  to   support  which   so  many  of  them   fought,   and 
Ijled,  and  died. 

I  adjure  you,  as  you  honor  their  memory — as  you  love  the 
cause  of  freedom,  to  which  they  dedicated  their  lives — as  you 
prize  the  peace  of  your  country,  the  lives  of  its  best  citizens, 
and  your  own  fair  fame,  to  retrace  your  steps.  Snatch  from  the 
archives  of  jour  State,  the  disorganizing  edict  of  its  convention 


190  PROCLAMATION  OF  ANDREW  JACKSON. 

— bid  its  members  to  rc-assemble,  and  promulgate  the  decided 
expressions  of  your  will  to  remain  in  the  path  which  alone  can 
conduct  you  to  safety,  prosperity  and  honor.  Tell  them  that, 
compared  to  disunion,  all  other  evils  are  light,  because  that 
brings  with  it  an  accumulation  of  all.  Declare  that  you  will 
never  take  the  field  unless  the  star  spangled  banner  of  your 
country  shall  float  over  you  ;  that  you  will  not  be  stigmatized 
when  dead,  and  dishonored  and  scorned  while  you  live,  as  the 
authors  of  the  first  attack  on  the  Constitution  of  your  country. 
Its  destroyers  you  can  not  be.  You  may  disturb  its  peace — 
you  may  interrupt  the  course  of  its  prosperity — you  may  cloud 
its  reputation  for  stability;  but  its  tranquility  will  be  restored, 
its  prosperity  will  return,  and  the  stain  upon  its  national  char- 
acter will  be  transferred,  and  remain  an  eternal  blot  on  the 
memory  of  those  who  caused  the  disorder. 

Fellow-citizens  of  the  United  States  !  The  threat  of  unhal- 
lowed disunion — the  names  of  those  once  respected,  by  whom  it 
is  uttered — the  array  of  military  force  to  support  it — denote  the 
approach  of  a  crisis  in  our  affairs,  on  which  the  continuance  of 
our  unexampled  prosperity,  our  political  existence,  and  perhaps 
that  of  all  free  governments,  may  depend.  The  conjuncture 
demanded  a  free,  a  full,  and  explicit  enunciation,  not  only  of 
my  intentions,  but  of  my  principles  of  action;  and  as  the  claim 
was  asserted  of  a  right  by  a  State  to  annul  the  laws  of  the 
Union,  and  even  to  secede  from  it  at  pleasure,  a  frank  exposition 
of  my  opinions  in  relation  to  the  origin  and  form  of  our  gov- 
ernment, and  the  construction  I  give  to  the  instrument  by  which 
it  was  created,  seemed  to  be  proper.  Having  the  fullest  confi- 
dence in  the  justness  of  the  legal  and  constitutional  opinion  of 
my  duties,  which  has  been  expressed,  I  rely,  with  equal  confi- 
dence, on  your  undivided  support  in  my  determination  to  exe- 
cute the  laws — to  preserve  the  Union  by  all  constitutional  means 
— to  arrest,  if  possible,  by  moderate  but  firm  measures,  the  ne- 
cessity of  a  recourse  to  force;  and,  if  it  be  the  will  of  Heaven, 
that  the  recurrence  of  its  primeval  curse  on  man  for  the  shed- 
ding of  a  brother's  blood  should  fall  upon  our  land,  that  it  be 
not  called  down  by  any  offensive  act  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States. 

Fellow  citizens !  the  momentous  case  is  before  you.  On  your 
undivided  support  of  your  Government  depends  the  decision  of 
the  great  question  it  involves,  whether  your  sacred  Union  will 
be  preserved,  and  the  blessings  it  secures  to  us  as  one  people, 
shall  be  perpetuated.  No  one  can  doubt  that  the  unanimity 
with  which  that  decision  will  be  expressed,  will  be  such  as  to 
inspire  new  confidence  in  republican  institutions,  and  that  the 
prudence,  the  wisdom,  and  the  courage  which   it  will  bring  to 


PROCLAMATION    OV    ANDREW    JACKSON.  191 

their  (iefcnce,  will  transmit  them  unimpaired  and  invigorated  to 
our  children. 

May  the  Great  Kulor  of  Nations  grant  that  the  signal  bless- 
ings with  which  He  has  favored  ours,  may  not,  by  the  madness 
of  party  or  personal  ambition,  be  disregarded  and  lost;  and 
may  His  wise  providence  bring  those  who  have  produced  this 
crisis  to  see  their  folly,  before  they  feel  the  misery  of  civil  strife, 
and  inspire  a  returning  veneration  for  that  Union,  which,  if  we 
may  dare  to  penetrate  His  designs,  He  has  chosen  as  the  only 
means  of  attaining  the  high  destinies  to  which  we  may  reason- 
ably aspire. 

In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  caused  the  seal  of  the  United 
States  to  be  hereunto  affixed,  having  signed  the  same  with  my 
hand. 

Done  at  the  city  of  Washington,  this  10th  day  of  December, 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty- 
two,  and  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States  the  fifty- 
seventh. 

By  the  President : 

ANDREW  JACKSON. 

Edwd.  Livingston,  Secretary  of  State. 


PLATFOKMS  OV  1860-1864. 


PLATFORM  OF  THK  RRECKIXRIDOE  PAKTY  OF  ISCO. 

Eesolved,  That  the  platform  adopted  by  the  Democratic  party 
At  Cincinnati  be  afTirmcd,  Nvith  the  following  explanatory  reso- 
lutions : 

1.  That  the  government  of  a  territory  organized  by  an  act  of 
C\)ngre3s  is  provisional  and  temporary,  and  during  its  existence 
all  citizens  of  the  United  States  have  an  equal  right  to  settle 
with  their  property  in  the  territory,  without  their  rights,  either 
in  person  or  property,  being  destroyed  by  congressional  or  ter- 
ritorial legislation. 

'2.  That  it  is  the  dvAy  of  the  Federal  Government,  in  all  its 
departments,  to  protect  the  rights  of  persons  and  property  in 
the  territories,  and  wherever  else  its  constitutional  authority 
extends. 

3.  That  when  the  settlers  in  a  territory,  having  an  adequate 
population,  form  a  State  Constitution,  the  right  of  sovereignty 
commences,  and  being  consummated  by  their  admission  into 
the  Union,  they  stand  on  an  equality  with  the  peofde  of  other 
States,  and  a  State  thus  organized  ought  to  be  admitted  into  the 
Federal  Union,  M'hether  its  constitution  prohibits  or  recognizes 
the  institution  of  slavery. 

4.  That  the  Democratic  party  are  in  favor  of  the  acquisition 
of  Cuba,  on  such  terms  as  shall  be  honorable  to  our.solvcs  and 
just  to  Spain,  at  the  earliest  practicable  moment. 

5.  That  the  enactments  of  State  Legislatures  to  defeat  the 
fwithful  execution  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  are  hostile  in 
character,  subversive  of  the  Constitution,  and  revolutionary  in 
their  effect. 

G.  That  the  Democracy  of  the  L^nited  States  recognize  it  as 
an  imperative  duty  of  the  government  to  protect  th-e  naturalized 
citizen  in  all  iiis  rights,  whether  at  home  or  in  foreign  lands,  to 
the  same  extent  as  its  native  born  citizens. 

Whi-:ke.a.s,  One  of  the  greatest  necessities  of  the  age,  in  a 
political,  commercial,  postal,  and  military  point  of  view,  is  a 
speedy  communication  between  the  PaciQc  and  Atlantic  coasts; 
therefore,  be  it  resolved, 

(192) 


PLATFORMS  OF    lSGO-1864.  193 

7.  That  the  National  Democratic  party  do  hereby  pledge  them- 
selves to  use  every  means  in  their  power  to  secure  the  paseage 
of  some  bill,  to  the  extent  of  the  Constitutional  authority  by 
Congress,  for  the  construction  of  a  railroad  to  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
at  the  earliest  practicable  moment. 

PLATFORM  OP  THE  DOUGLAS  PARTY  OF  1860. 

_  Resolved,  That  we,  the  Democracy  of  the  Union  in  Conven- 
tion assembled,  hereby  declare  our  affirmation  of  the  resolutions 
unanimiously  adopted  and  declared  as  a  platform  of  principles 
by  the  Democratic  Convention  at  Cincinnati,  in  the  year  1856 
believing  that  Democratic  principles  are  unchangable  in  their 
nature  when  applied  to  the  same  subject  matter,  and  we  recom- 
mend as  our  only  further  resolutions  the  following: 

That  inasmuch  as  differences  of  opinion  exist  in  the  Demo- 
cratic party  as  to  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  powers  of  a  Ter- 
ritorial Legislature,  and  as  to  the  powers  and  duties  of  Con- 
gress, under  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  over  the 
institution  of  slavery  in  the  territories; 

Resolved,  That  the  Democratic  party  will  abide  by  the  decis- 
ion of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  over  the  institu- 
tion of  slavery  in  the  territories. 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  duty  of  the  United  States  to  afford 
ample  and  complete  protection  to  all  its  citizens,  at  home  or 
abroad,  and  whether  nativjc  or  foreign  born. 

Resolved,  That  one  of  the  necessities  of  the  age,  in  a  military, 
commercial,  and  postal  point  of  view,  is  a  speedy  communication 
between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  States,  and  the  Democratic 
party  pledge  such  constitutional  enactment  as  will  insure  the 
construction  of  a  railroad  to  the  Pacific  coast  at  the  earliest 
practical  period. 

Resolved,  That  the  Democratic  party  are  in  favor  of  the  ac- 
quisition of  the  Island  of  Cuba,  on  such  terms  as  shall  be  hon- 
orable to  ourselves  and  just  to  Spain. 

Resolved,  That  the  enactments  of  State  Legislatures  to  defeat 
the  faithful  execution  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  are  hostile  in 
character,  subversive  to  the  Constitution,  and  revolutionary  in 
their  effect. 

Resolved,  That  it  is  in  accordance  with  the  Cincinnati  Plat- 
form, that  during  the  existence  of  Territorial  Governments,  the 
measure  of  restriction,  whatever  it  may  be,  imposed  by  the  Fed- 
eral Constitution  on  the  power-  of  the  Territorial  Legislature 
over  the  subject  of  the  domestic  relations,  as  the  same  has  been 
or  shall  hereafter  be  decided  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  should  be  respected  by  all  good  citizens,  and  enforced 
13 


194  PLATroKMs  OF   lSiJ0-18G4. 

with  proniptncfs  and  fidelit}-  by   every   bi-:int;:i   of  the  General 
Governuiont. 

THE  REPUBLICAN  PLATFORM  OF  ISGO. 

Fesolved,  That  wc,  the  delegated  representatives  of  the  Ee- 
publican  electors  of  the  United  States,  in  Convention  assembled, 
in  the  discharge  of  the  duty  we  owe  to  our  constituents  and  our 
country,  unite  in  the  following  resolutions: 

1.  Tliat  the  history  of  the  nation  during  the  last  four  years 
has  fully  established  the  propriety  and  necessity  of  the  organi- 
zation and  perpetuation  of  the  Kepublican  party,  and  that  the 
causes  which  called  it  into  existence  are  permanent  in  their 
nature,  and  now,  more  than  ever,  demand  its  peaceful  and  con- 
stitutional triumph. 

2.  That  the  maintenance  of  the  principles  promulgated  in 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  embodied  in  the  Federal 
Constitution,  that  "all  men  arc  created  equal;  that  tliey  are 
endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain  inalienable  rights,  among 
which  are  those  of  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness, 
and  that  Governments  are  instituted  among  men  to  secure  the 
enjoyment  of  these  rights,  deriving  their  just  power  from  the 
consent  of  the  governed" — are  essential  to  the  preservation  of 
our  republican  institutions,  and  that  the  Federal  Constitution, 
the  rights  of  the  States,  and  the  union  of  the  States,  must  and 
shall  be  preserved. 

3.  That  to  the  union  of  the  State^this  nation  owes  its  unpre- 
cedented increase  in  population,  its  surprising  developments  of 
material  resources;  its  rapid  augmentation  of  wealth;  its  hap- 
piness at  home  and  its  honor  abroad;  and  we  hold  in  abhor- 
rence all  schemes  for  disunion,  come  from  whatever  source  they 
may;  and  we  congratulate  the  country  that  no  Kepublican  mem- 
ber of  Congress  has  uttered  or  countenanced  the  threats  of  dis- 
union as  often  made  by  the  Democratic  members  of  Congress, 
without  rebuke  and  with  applause  from  their  political  associates; 
and  we  denounce  those  threats  of  disunion  in  case  of  a  popular 
overthrow  of  their  ascendency,  as  denying  the  vital  principles 
of  a  free  Government,  and  as  an  avowal  of  contemplated  treason 
which  it  is  the  imperative  duty  of  an  indignant  people  sternly 
to  rebuke  and  forever  silence. 

4.  That  the  maintenance  inviolate,  of  the  rights  of  the  States, 
and  especially  of  each  State,  to  order  and  control  its  own  do- 
mestic institutions  according  to  its  own  judgment  exclusively, 
is  essential  to  that  balance  of  power  on  which  the  perfection 
and  endurance  of  our  political  fabric  depends ;  and  we  denounce 
the  lawless  invasion  by  armed  force  of  the  soil  of  any  State  or 


PLATFORMS  OP   1860-1864.  195 

Territory,  no  matter  under  what  pretext,   as  one  of  the  gravest 
of  crimes. 

5.  That  the  present  Democratic  Administration  has  far  ex- 
ceeded our  worst  apprehensions  in  the  measureless  subserviency 
to  the  exactions  of  a  sectional  interest,  as  especially  evinced  in 
its  desperate  exertions  to  force  the  infamous  Lecompton  Consti- 
tution upon  the  protesting  people  of  Kansas,  construing  the 
relation  between  master  and  servant  to  involve  an  unqualified 
property  in  persons;  in  its  attempted  enforcement  everywhere, 
on  land  and  sea,  through  the  intervention  of  Congress  and  of 
the  Federal  Courts,  of  the  extreme  pretensions  of  a  purely  local 
interest ;  and  in  its  general  and  unvarying  abuse  of  the  power 
entrusted  to  it  by  a  confiding  people. 

6.  That  the  people  justly  view  with  alarm  the  reckless  ex- 
travagance which  pervades  every  department  of  the  Federal 
Government.  That  a  return  to  right  economy  and  accounta- 
bility is  indispensible  to  arrest  the  plunder  of  the  public  treas- 
ury by  favored  partisans,  while  the  recent  startling  developments 
of  frauds  and  corruption  at  the  Federal  metropolis  show  that 
an  entire  change  of  administration  is  imperatively  demanded. 

7.  That  the  new  dogma  that  the  Constitution  of  its  own  force 
carries  slavery  into  any  or  all  the  Territories  of  the  United 
States,  if)  a  dangerous  political  heresy,  at  variance  with  the  ex- 
plicit provisions  of  that  instrument  itself,  with  cotemporaneous 
exposition,  and  with  legislative  and  judicial^  precedents,  that  it 
is  revolutionary  in  its  tendency  and  subversive  of  the  peace  and 
harmony  of  the  country. 

8.  That  the  nominal  condition  of  all  the  territory  of  the 
United  States  is  that  of  freedom;  that  as  our  Republican  fathers, 
when  they  had  abolished  slavery  in  all  our  national  territory, 
ordained  that  no  person  should  be  deprived  of  life,  liberty  or 
property  without  due  process  of  law,  it  becomes  our  duty  by 
legislation,  whenever  such  legislation  is  necessary,  to  maintain 
this  provision  of  the  Constitution  against  all  attempts  to  violate 
it;  and  we  deny  the  authority  of  Congress,  or  a  Territorial 
Legislature,  or  of  any  individual,  to  give  legal  existence  to ' 
slavery  in  any  Territory  of  the  United  States. 

9.  That  we  brand  the  recent  re-opening  of  the  African  Slave 
Trade,  under  the  cover  of  our  national  flag,  aided  by  perversions 
of  judicial  power,  as  a  crime  against  humanity,  and  a  burning 
shame  to  our  country  and  age;  and  we  call  upon  Congress  to 
take  prompt  and  efficient  measures  for  the  total  and  final  sup- 
pression of  that  execrable  traffic. 

10.  That  in  the  recent  vetoes  by  their  Federal  Governors  of 
fhe  acta  of  the  Legislatures  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  prohibit- 
ing slavery  in  these  Territories,  we  find  a  practical  illustration 
of  the  boasted  Democratic  principles  of  non-intervention  and 


196  PLAxroRMS  OF  1860-1864. 

Popular  Sovereignty,  embodied  in  tho  Kansaa-Nebraaka  bill, 
and   a   demonstration   of    the    deception   and    fraud    involved 

therein.  .  ,.      ,       ,    .      , 

11.  That  Kansas  should,  of  right,  bo  immediately  admitted  aa 
a  State  under  the  Constitution  recently  formed  and  adopted  by 
her  people,  and  accepted  by  the  House  of  Kepresentatives. 

12.  That  while  providing  revenue  for  tho  support  of  the  Gen- 
eral Government,  by  duties  upon  imports,  sound  policy  requires 
such  an  adjustment  of  these  imports  as  to  encourage  the  devel- 
opment of  the  industrial  interests  of  the  whole  country,  and  we 
commend  that  policy  of  National  Exchange  which  secures  to 
the  working  men  liberal  wages,  agriculture  remunerative  prices, 
to  merchants  and  manufacturers  an  adequate  reward  for  their 
skill,  labor  and  enterprise,  and  to  the  nation  commercial  pros- 
perity and  independence. 

13.  That  we  protest  against  any  sale  or  alienation  to  others 
of  the  public  lands  held  by  actual  settlers,  and  against  any  view 
of  the  free  homestead  policy,  which  regards  the  settlers  aa 
paupers  or  suppliants  for  public  bounty,  and  we  demand  the 
passage  by  Congress  of  the  complete  and  satisfactory  homestead 
measure  which  has  already  passed  the  House. 

14.  That  the  National  liepublican  party  is  opposed  to  any 
change  in  our  naturalization  laws,  or  any  State  Legislation,  by 
which  the  rights  of  citizenship  hitherto  accorded  to  immigrants 
from  foreign  lands  shall  be  abridged  or  impaired,  and  in  favor 
of  giving  a  full  and  efficient  protection  to  the  rights  of  all  classes 
of  citizens,  whether  native  or  naturalized,  both  at  home  and 
abroad. 

15.  That  appropriations  by  Congress  for  river  and  harbor  im- 
provements of  a  national  character,  is  required  for  the  accommo- 
dation and  security  of  an  existing  commerce,  or  authorized  by 
the  Constitution  and  justified  by  tho  obligation  of  the  Govern- 
ment to  protect  the  lives  and  property  of  its  citizens. 

16.  That  a  railroad  to  the  racific  ocean  is  imperatively  de- 
manded by  the  interests  of  the  whole  country;  and  that  the 
Federal  Government  ought  to  render  immediate  and  efficient  aid 
in  its  construction,  and  that  preliminary  thereto,  a  daily  over- 
land mail  should  be  promptly  established. 

17.  Finally,  having  thus  set  forth  our  distinctive  principles 
and  views,  we  invite  the  co-operation  of  all  citizens,  however 
differing  in  other  questions,  who  substantially  agree  with  us,  in 
their  affirmance  and  support. 

PLATFORM  OP  THE  NATIONAL  CONSTITUTIONAL  PARTY  OF  1860. 

The  Union,  the  Constitution  and  the  Laws. 


PLATFORMS  OF  1860-1864.  197 

UNION   PLATFORM,  ADOPTED   AT  BALTIMORE  JUNB   8,  1864. 

Besolved,  That  ifc  is  the  highest  duty  of  every  American  citi- 
zen to  maintain  against  all  its  enemies,  the  integrity  of  the 
Union,  and  the  paramount  authority  of  the  Constitution  and 
layrs  of  the  United  States,  and  that,  laying  all  political  opinions 
aside,  we  pledge  ourselves,  as  Union  men,  animated  by  a  com- 
mon sentiment,  and  aiming  at  a  common  object,  to  do  everything 
in  our  power  to  aid  the  Government  in  quelling,  by  force  of 
arms,  the  rebellion  now  raging  against  its  authority,  and  bring- 
ing to  the  punishment  due  to  their  crimes,  the  rebels  and 
traitors  arrayed  against  it. 

Resolved^  That  we  approve  the  determination  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  not  to  compromise  with  rebels,  or  to 
offer  any  terms  of  peace,  except  such  as  may  be  based  upon  an 
unconditional  surrender  of  their  hostility,  &c.,  and  a  return  to 
their  just  allegiance  to  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  United 
States,  and  that  we  call  upon  the  Government  to  maintain  this 
position,  and  to  prosecute  the  war  with  the  utmost  possible 
vigor  to  the  complete  suppression  of  the  rebellion,  in  full  reli- 
ance upon  the  self-sacrifices,  the  patriotism,  the  heroic  valor, 
and  the  undying  devotion  of  the  American  people  to  their 
country  and  its  free  institutions. 

Resolved,  That  slavery  was  the  cause  and  now  constitutes 
the  strength  of  the  rebellion,  and  that  as  it  must  be  always  and 
everywhere  hostile  to  the  principles  of  Republican  Govern- 
ments, justice  and  the  national  safety  demand  its  utter  and 
complete  extirpation  from  the  soil  of  the  Kepublic,  and  that  we 
uphold  and  maintain  the  acts  and  proclamations,  by  which  the 
Government,  in  its  own  defence,  has  aimed  a  death  blow  at  this 
gigantic  evil.  We  are  in  favor,  furthermore,  of  such  an  amend- 
ment to  the  Constitution,  to  be  made  by  the  people  in  conformity 
with  its  provisions,  as  shall  terminate  and  forever  prohibit  the 
existence  of  slavery  within  the  limits  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
United  States. 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  the  American  people  are  daie  to 
the  soldiers  and  sailors  of  the  army  and  navy,  who  have  periled 
their  lives  in  defence  of  their  country,  and  in  vindication  of 
the  honor  of  the  flag;  that  the  nation  owes  them  some  perma- 
nent recognition  of  their  patriotism  and  their  valor,  and  ample 
and  permanent  provision  for  those  of  their  survivors  who  have 
received  disabling  and  honorable  wounds  in  the  service  of  their 
country,  and  that  the  memories  of  those  who  have  fallen  in  its 
defense  shall  be  held  in  grateful  and  everlasting  remembrance. 

Resolved,  That  we  approve  and  applaud  the  political  wisdom, 
the  unselfish  patriotism  and  unswerving  fidelity  to  the  Consti- 
tution and   the   principles   of  American  liberty,   with   whieh 


198  PLATFORMS    Of    1 860-1 86-J. 

Abraham  Lincoln  has  discharged,  under  circumstances  of  un- 
paralellcd  difficulty,  the  great  duties  and  responsibilities  of  the 
Presidential  office;  that  wc  approve  and  endorse,  as  demanded 
by  the  emergency  and  essential  to  the  preservation  of  the 
nation,  and  as  within  the  Constitution,  the  measures  and  acts 
which  he  has  adopted  to  defend  the  nation  against  its  open  and 
secret  foes;  especially  the  Proclamation  of  Emancipation,  and 
the  employment,  as  Union  soldiers,  of  men  berctoforo  held  in 
slavery,  and  that  we  have  full  confidence  in  his  determination 
to  carry  these  and  all  other  Constitutional  measures,  essential 
to  the  salvation  of  the  country,  into  full  and  complete  effect 

Jiesolved,  That  we  deem  it  essential  to  the  general  welfare, 
that  harmony  should  prevail  in  the  national  councils,  and  we 
regard  as  worthy  of  public  confidence  and  official  trust  those 
only  who  cordially  endorse  the  principle  proclaimed  in  these 
resolutions,  and  which  should  characterize  the  administration 
of  the  Government. 

Resolved,  That  the  Government  owes  to  all  men  employed  in 
its  armies,  without  distinction  of  color,  the  full  protection  of 
the  laws  of  war,  and  any  violation  of  these  laws  and  of  the 
usages  of  civilized  nations  in  the  time  of  war,  by  the  rebels 
now  in.  arms,  should  be  made  the  subject  of  full  and  prompt 
redress. 

Resolved,  That  the  foreign  immigration,  which  in  the  past 
has  added  so  much  to  the  wealth  and  development  of  resources 
and  increase  of  power  to  this  nation,  the  asylum  of  the  op- 
pressed of  all  nations,  should  be  fostered  and  encouraged  by  a 
liberal  and  just  policy. 

Resolved,  That  we  are  in  favor  of  the  speedy  construction  of 
the  railroad  to  the  Pacific. 

Resolved,  That  the  national  faith  is  pledged  forthe  redemption 
of  the  public  debt  and  must  be  kept  inviolate;  and  that  for  this 
purpose  we  recommend  economy  and  rigid  responsibilities  in 
the  public  expenditures,  and  a  vigctfous  and  just  system  of  tax- 
ation; that  it  is  the  duty  of  every  loyal  State  to  sustain  the  use 
of  the  national  currency. 

Resolvsd,  That  we  approve  the  position  taken  by  the  Govern- 
ment, that  the  people  of  the  United  States  can  never  regard 
with  indifference  the  attempt  of  European  power  to  overthrow 
by  force,  or  to  supplant  by  fraud,  the  institutions  of  any  Repub- 
lican government  on  the  Western  Continent,  and  that  they  will 
view  with  extreme  jealousy,  as  menacing  to  the  peace  and  inde- 
pendence of  this  our  country,  the  efforts  of  any  such  power  to 
obtain  new  footholds  for  monarchical  governments  sustained  by 
a  foreign  military  force  in  near  proximiry  to  the  United  States. 


PLATFORMS  OF  1860-1864.  199 

FREMONT  PLATFORM,  ADOPTED  AT  CLEVELAND,  MAY  31,  1864. 

1.  That  the  Federal  Union  must  be  preserved. 

2.  That  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  United  iStates  must 
be  observed  and  obeyed. 

3.  That  the  rebellion  must  be  suppressed  by  the  force  of  arms, 
and  without  compromise. 

4.  That  the  rights  of  Free  Speech,  Free  Press,  and  the  Habeas 
Corpus  must  be  held  inviolate,  save  in  districts  where  martial 
law  has  been  proclaimed. 

5.  That  the  rebellion  has  destroyed  slavery,  and  the  Federal 
Constitution  should  be  amended  to  prohibit  its  re-establishment. 

6.  That  the  right  for  asylum,  except  for  crime,  and  subject 
to  law,  is  a  recognized  principle — a  principle  of  American  lib- 
erty; that  any  violation  of  it  must  not  be  overlooked,  and  must 
not  go  unrebuked. 

7.  That  the  National  policy  known  as  the  Monroe  doctrine 
has  become  a  recognized  principle,  and  that  the  establishment 
of  an  anti-republican  government  on  this  continent  by  a  foreign 
power  can  not  be  tolerated. 

8.  That  the  gratitude  and  support  of  the  nation  is  due  to  the 
faithful  soldiers,  and  the  earnest  leaders  of  the  Union  army  and 
navy,  for  their  heroic  achievements  and  valor  in  defense  of  our 
imperiled  country  and  of  civil  liberty. 

y.  That  the  one  term  policy  for  the  Presidency  adopted  by 
the  people  is  strengthened  by  the  existing  crisis,  and  shall  be 
maintained  by  constitutional  amendments. 

10.  That  the  constitution  shall  be  so  amended  that  the  Presi- 
dent and  Vice  President  shall  be  elected  by  a  direct  vote  of  the 
people. 

11.  That  the  reconstruction  of  the  rebellious  States  belongs 
to  the  people  through  their  representatives  in  Congress,  and  not 
to  the  Executive. 

12.  That  the  confiscation  of  the  lands  of  the  rebels  and  their 
distribution  among  the  soldiers  and  actual  settlers  is  a  measure 
of  justice;  that  integrity  and  economy  are  demanded  at  all  times 
in  the  measures  of  the  government,  and  that  now  the  want  of 
this  is  criminal. 


SPEECH  OF  A.  II.  STEPIIETsS, 

OF  GEORGIA,   IN  OrPOSITION    TO    SECESSION, 
DELIVEREKED  NOV.  14,  1800. 


Felloav-Citizens  :  I  appear  before  you  to-nifrht,  at  the  request 
of  members  of  the  Legislature  and  others,  to  speak  of  matters 
of  the  deepest  interest  that  can  possibly  concern  us  all,  of  an 
earthly  cliaracter.  There  is  nothing — no  question  or  subject 
connected  with  this  life — that  concerns  a  free  people  so  inti- 
mately as  that  of  the  government  under  which  we  live.  We  are 
now,  indeed,  surrounded  by  evils.  Never,  since  I  entered  upon 
the  public  stage,  has  the  country  Ijeen  so  environed  with  diflB- 
culties  and  dangers,  that  threatened  the  public  peace  and  the 
very  existence  of  society,  as  now.  I  do  not  now  appear  before 
you  at  ray  own  instance.  It  is  not  to  gratify  any  desire  of  my  own 
that  1  am  here.  Had  I  consulted  my  own  ease  and  pleasure  I 
should  not  be  before  you;  but,  believing  that  it  is  tiie  duty  of 
every  good  citizen  to  give  his  counsels  and  views  whenever  the 
country  is  in  danger,  as  to  the  best  policj'  to  be  pursued,  I  am 
here.  For  these  reasons,  and  those  only,  do  1  bespeak  a  calm, 
patient,  and  attentive  hearing. 

My  object  is  not  to  stir  up  strife,  but  to  allay  it;  not  to  appeal 
to  your  passions,  but  to  your  reason.  Good  governments  can 
never  be  built  up  or  sustained  by  the  impulse  of  passion.  I 
wish  to  address  myself  to  your  good  sense,  to  your  good  judg- 
ment, and  if,  after  hearing,  you  diwigree,  let  us  agree  to  disa- 
gree, and  part  as  we  met,  friends.  We  all  have  the  same  object, 
the  same  interest.  That  people  should  disagree  in  republican 
governments,  upon  questions  of  public  policy,  is  natural.  That 
men  siiould  disagree  upon  all  matters  connected  with  human 
investigation,  whether  relating  to  science  or  human  conduct,  rs 
natural.  Hence,  in  free  governments,  parties  will  arise.  But  a 
free  people  should  express  their  different  opinions  with  liberal- 
ity and  charity,  with  no  acrimony  toward  those  of  their  fellows, 
when  honestly  and  sincerely  given.  These  are  my  feelings  to- 
night. 

Let  us,  therefore,  reason  together.  It  is  not  my  purpose  to 
say  aught  to  wound  the  feelings  of  any  individual  who  may  be 

(200) 


OF  GEORGIA.  201 

present;  and  if,  in  the  ardency  with  which  I  shall  express  my 
opinions,  1  shall  say  any  thin^  which  may  be  deemed  too  strong, 
let  it  be  set  down  to  the  zeal  with  which  I  advocate  my  own 
convictions.     There  is  with  me  no  intention  to  irritate  or  offend. 

The  first  question  that  presents  itself  is,  shall  the  people  of 
the  South  secede  from  the  Union  in  consequence  of  the  election 
of  Mr.  Lincoln  to  the  Presidency  of  the  United  States?  My 
countrymen,  I  tell  you  frankly,  candidly,  and  earnestly,  that  1 
do  not  think  that  they  ought,  in  my  judgment,  the  election  of  • 
no  man,  constitutionally  chosen  to  that  high  office,  is  sufficient 
cause  for  any  State  to  separate  from  the  Union.  It  ought  to 
stand  by  and  aid  still  in  maintaining  the  Constitution  of  the 
country.  To  make  a  point  of  resistance  to  the  Government,  to 
withdraw  from  it  because  a  man  has  been  constitutionally  elect- 
ed, puts  us  in  the  wrong.  We  are  pledged  to  maintain  the 
Constitution.  Many  of  us  have  sworn  to  support  it.  Can  we, 
therefore,  for  the  mere  election  of  a  man  to  the  Presidency,  and 
that  too  in  accordance  with  the  prescribed  forms  of  the  Consti- 
tution, make  a  point  of  resistance  to  the  Government  without 
becoming  the  breakers  of  that  sacred  instrument  ourselves — 
withdraw  ourselves  from  it?  Would  we  not  be  in  the  wrong? 
Whatever  fate  is  to  befall  this  country,  let  it  never  be  laid  to 
the  charge  of  the  people  of  the  South,  and  especially  to  the  peo- 
ple of  Georgia,  that  we  were  untrue  to  our  national  engage- 
ments. Let  the  fault  and  the  wrong  rest  upon  others.  If  all 
our  hopes  are  to  be  blasted,  if  the  Republic  is  to  go  down,  let 
us  be  found  to  the  last  moment  standing  on  the  deck,  with  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  waving  over  our  heads.  Let ' 
the  fanatics  of  the  North  break  the  Constitution,  if  such  is  their 
fell  purpose.  Let  the  responsibility  be  upon  them.  I  shall 
speak  presently  more  of  their  acts ;  but  let  not  the  South — let  us 
not  be  the  ones  to  commit  the  aggression.  We  went  into  the 
election  with  this  people.  The  result  was  different  from  what 
we  wished  ;  but  the  election  has  been  constitutionally  held. 
Were  we  to  make  a  point  of  resistance  to  the  Government  and 
go  out  of  the  Union  on  that  account,  the  record  would  be  made 
up  hereafter  against  us. 

But  it  is  said  Mr.  Lincoln's  policy  and  principles  are  against 
the  Constitution,  and  that'if  he  carries  them  out  it  will  be  de- 
structive of  our  rights.  Let  us  not  anticipate  a  threatened  evil. 
If  he  violates  the  Constitution,  then  will  come  our  time  to  act 
Do  not  let  us  break  it  because,  forsooth  he  may.  If  he  does, 
that  is  the  time  for  us  to  strike.  I  think  it  would  be  injudicious 
and  unwise  to  do  this  sooner.  I  do  not  anticipate  that  Mr.  Lin- 
coln will  do  anything  to  jeopard  our  safety  or  security,  whatever 
may  be  his  spirit  to  do  it;  for  he  is  bound  by  the  constitutional 
checks  which  arc  thrown  around  him,  which  at  this  time  render 


202  SI'KECH  Ol-  A.   II.   STKrilENS,  OF  GKOKGIA. 

him  powcrlcsa  to  do  :uiy  <^rcat  mischief.  This  8ho\YS  the  wis- 
dom of  our  system.  The  President  of  the  United  .States  is  no 
cmperoi-,  no  dictator — he  is  clotlied  with  no  absolute  power.  ^Ile 
can  do  nothino;  unless  lie  is  backed  by  power  in  ("undress.  The 
House  of  Keprescntatives  is  largely  in  the  majority  against 
liira. 

In  the  Senate  ho  will  also  be  powerless.  There  will  be  a  ma- 
jority of  four  against  him.  This,  after  the  loss  of  Bigler,  Fitch, 
and  others,  by  tiie  unfortunate  dissensions  of  thj  National  Demo- 
cratic party  in  their  States.  Mr.  Lincoln  can  not  appoint  an 
officer  Avithout  the  consent  of  the  Senate — he  can  not  form  a 
cabinet  without  the  same  consent,  lie  will  Ije  in  the  condition 
of  George  HI.  (t!io  cml)odiment  of  Toryism),  Avho  had  to  ask 
the  Whigs  to  appoint  his  ministers,  and  was  compelled  to  re- 
ceive a  cabinet  utterly  opposed  to  his  views;  and  so  Mr.  Lin- 
coln will  be  compelled  to  ask  of  the  tjenate  to  choose  for  him  a 
cabinet,  if  the  Democracy  of  that  body  ehoose  to  put  him  on 
such  terms.  lie  will  be  compelled  to  do  this  or  let  the  Govern- 
ment stop,  if  the  National  Democratic  men — for  that  is  their 
name  at  the  North — the  conservative  men  in  the  Senate,  should 
so  determine.  Then  how  can  Mr.  Lincoln  obtain  a  cabinet 
which  would  aid  him,  or  allow  him  to   violate  the  Constitution? 

Why,  then,  I  say,  should  we  disrupt  the  ties  of  this  Union 
when  his  hands  are  tied,  when  he  can  do  nothing  against  us? 
I  have  heard  it  mooted  that  no  man  in  the  State  of  Georgia, 
who  is  true  to  her  interests,  could  hold  office  under  Mr.  Lincoln. 
But,  I  ask,  who  appoints  to  office?  Not  the  President  alone ; 
the  Senate  has  to  concur.  No  man  can  be  appointed  Avithout 
the  consent  of  the  Senate.  Should  any  man  then  refuse  to  hold 
office  that  was  given  to  him  by  a  Democratic  Senate?  [Mr. 
Toombs  interrupted  and  said  if  the  Senate  was  Democratic  it 
was  for  Mr.  Breckinridge.]  Well,  then,  continued  Mr.  S.,  I 
apprehend  no  man  could  be  justly  considered  untrue  to  the 
interests  of  (ieorgia,  or  incur  any  disgrace,  if  the  interests  of 
Georgia  required  it,  to  hold  an  office  which  a  Breckinridge  Sen- 
ate had  given  him,  even  though  Mr.  Lincoln  should  be  Presi- 
dent. 

I  trust,  my  countrymen,  you  will  be  still  and  silent.  1  am 
addressing  your  good  sense,  i  am  giving  you  my  views  in  a 
calm  and  dispassionate  manner,  and  if  any  of  you  differ  with 
me,  you  can,  on  any  other  occasion,  give  your  views  as  1  am 
doing  now,  and  let  ro.ason  and  true  patriotism  decide  between 
us.  In  my  judgment,  1  say,  under  such  circumstances,  there 
would  be  no  possible  disgrace  for  a  Southern  man  to  hold  office. 
No  man  will  be  suflered  to  be  appointed,  1  have  no  doubt,  who 
is  not  true  to  tiic  Constitution,  if  Southern  Senators  are  true  to 
their  trusts,  as  I  can  not  permit  myself  to  doubt  that  they  will  bo. 


SPEECH    OF   A.    n.    STEPHEN'S,    OF  GEORGIA.  203 

My  honorable  friend  who  addressed  you  last  night  (Mr. 
Toombs),  and  to  whom  I  listened  with  the  profoundest  attention, 
asks  if  we  would  submit  to  Black  Kepubliean  rule?  I  say  to 
you  and  to  him,  as  a  Georgian,  1  never  would  submit  to  any 
Black  Republican  aggression  upon  our  constitutional  rights.  J 
will  never  consent  myself,  as  much  as  I  admire  this  Union  for 
the  glories  of  the  past,  or  the  blessings  of  the  present — as  much 
as  it  has  done  for  the  people  of  all  these  States — as  much  as  the 
hopes  of  the  world  hang  upon  it,  I  would  never  submit  to  ag- 
gression upon  my  rights  to  maintain  it  longer;  and  if  they  can 
not  be  maintained  in  the  Union,  standing  on  the  Georgia  plat- 
form, where  I  have  stood  from  the  time  of  its  adoption,  I  would 
be  in  favor  of  disrupting  every  tie  which  binds  the  States 
together. 

1  will  have  equality  for  Georgia  and  for  the  citizens  of  Georgia 
in  this  Union,  or  I  will  look  for  new  safeguards  elsewhere.  This 
is  my  position.  The  only  question  now  is,  can  they  be  secured 
in  the  Union?  That  is  what  I  am  counseling  with  you  to-night 
about.  Can  they  be  secured  ?  In  my  judgment  tbey  may  be,  but 
they  may  not  be;  but  let  us  do  all  we  can.  so  thaj;  in  the  future,  if 
the  worst  come,  it  may  never  be  said  we  were  negligent  in  doing 
our  duty  to  the  last. 

My  countrymen,  I  am  not  of  those  who  believe  this  Union 
has  been  a  curse  up  to  this  time.  True  men,  men  of  integrity, 
entertain  different  views  from  me  on  this  subject.  I  do  not 
question  their  right  to  do  so:  I  would  not  impugn  their  motives 
in  so  doing.  Nor  will  I  undertake  to  say  that  this  Government 
of  our  fathers  is  perfect.  There  is  nothing  perfect  in  this  world, 
of  a  human  origin.  Nothing  connected  with  human  nature, 
from  man  himself  to  any  of  his  works.  You  may  select  the 
wisest  and  best  men  for  your  judges,  and  yet  how  many  defects 
are  there  in  the  administration  of  justice?  You  may  select  the 
wisest  and  best  men  for  your  legislators,  and  yet  how  many 
defects  are  apparent  in  your  laws?  And  it  is  so  in  our  gov- 
ernment. 

But  that  this  government  of  our  fathers,  with  all  its  defects, 
comes  nearer  the  objects  of  all  good  governments  than  any 
other  on  the  face  of  the  earth  is  my  settled  conviction.  Con- 
trast it  now  with  any  on  the  fiice  of  the  earth.  [England,  said 
Mr.  Toombs.]  —  England,  my  friend  says.  Well,  tliat  is  tlie 
next  best,  I  grant;  but  I  think  we  have  improved  upon  England. 
Statesmen  tried  their  apprentice  hand  on  the  government  of 
England,  and  then  ours  was  made.  Ours  sprang  from  that, 
avoiding  many  of  its  defects,  taking  most  of  the  good  and 
leaving  out  many  of  its  errors,  and  from  the  whole  constructing 
and  building  up  this  model  Republic — the  best  which  the  his- 
tory of  the  world  gives  an  account  of. 


204  SPliECII  OF  A.   n.   STEPUEXS,  OF  GKORGIA, 

Compare,  my  friends,  this  Government  with  that  of  Spain, 
Mexico,  the  South  American  KcpuljlicH,  Germany,  Ireland— are 
there  any  sons  of  that  down-trodden  nation  hero  to-nipjht? — 
Prussia,  or  if  you  travel  further  east,  to  Turkey  or  China. 
Where  will  you  go,  following  the  sun  in  its  circuit  round  our 
globe,  to  find  a  government  that  hetter  protects  the  liberties  of 
the  people,  and  secures  to  them  the  blessings  we  enjoy?  I  think 
that  one  of  the  evils  that  beset  us  is  a  surfeit  of  liberty,  an  exu- 
berance of  the  priceless  blessings  for  which  we  are  ungrateful. 
We  listened  to  my  honorable  friend  who  addressed  you  last 
night,  (Mr.  Toombs,)  as  he  recounted  the  evils  of  this  Govern 
raent. 

The  first  was  the  fishing  bounties,  paid  mostly  to  the  sailors 
of  New  England.  Our  friend  stated  that  forty-eight  years  of 
our  Government  was  under  the  administration  of  Southern 
Presidents.  Well,  these  fishing  bounties  began  under  the  rule 
of  a  Southern  President,  I  believe.  No  one  of  them  during  the 
whole  forty-eight  years  ever  set  his  Administration  against  the 
principle  or  policy  of  them.  It  is  not  for  me  to  say  whether  it 
was  a  wise  policy  in  the  beginning;  it  probably  was  not,  and  I 
have  nothing  to  say  in  its  defense.  But  the  reason  given  for  it 
was  to  encourage  our  young  men  to  go  to  sea  and  learn  to  manage 
ships.  We  had  at  the  time  but  a  small  navy.  It  was  tliought 
best  to  encourage  a  class  of  our  people  to  become  acquainted 
with  seafaring  life,  to  become  sailors — to  man  our  naval  ships. 
It  requires  practice  to  walk  the  deck  of  a  ship,  to  pull  the  ropes, 
to  furl  the  sails,  to  go  aloft,  to  climb  the  mast;  and  it  was 
thought,  by  offering  this  bounty,  a  nursery  might  be  formed  in 
which  young  men  would  become  perfected  in  these  arts,  and  it 
applied  to  one  section  of  the  country  as  well  as  to  any  other. 

The  result  of  this  was  that  in  the  war  of  1812  our  sailors, 
many  of  whom  came  from  this  nursery,  were  equal  to  any  that 
England  brought  against  us.  At  any  rate,  no  small  part  of  the 
glories  of  that  war  were  gained  by  the  veteran  tars  of  America, 
and  the  object  of  these  bounties  was  to  foster  that  branch  of 
tlie  national  defense.  INIy  opinion  is,  that  whatevor  may  have 
boen  tlie  reason  at  first,  this  bounty  ought  to  be  (liscontinued — 
the  reason  for  it,  at  first,  no  longer  exists.  A  bill  for  this  object 
did  pass  the  Senate  the  last  Congress  I  was  inj  to  which  my 
honorable  friend  contributed  greatly,  but  it  was  not  reached 
in  the  House  of  Representatives.  1  trust  that  he  will  yet  see 
that  he  may  with  honor  continue  his  connection  with  the  Gov- 
ernment, and  that  his  eloquence,  unrivaled  in  the  Senate,  may 
hereafter,  as  heretofore,  be  displayed  in  having  this  bounty,  so 
obnoxious  to  him,  repealed  and  wiped  off  the  statute  book. 

The  next  evil  which  my  friend  complained  of  was  the  Tariff. 
Well,  let  us  look  at  that  for  a  moment.     About  the  time  I  coia- 


SPEECH  OF  A.  11.  STEPUEXS,  OF  GEOKGIA.  205 

menced  noticing  public  matters,  this  question  was  a<];itating  the 
country  almost  as  fearfully  as  the  slave  question  now  is.  In 
1S32,  when  I  was  in  college,  South  Carolina  was  ready  to  nul- 
lify or  secede  from  the  Union  on  this  account.  And  what  have 
we  seen?  The  Tariff  no  longer  distracts  the  public  counsels. 
Reason  has  triumphed!  The  present  Tariff  was  voted  for  by 
Massachusetts  and  South  Carolina.  The  lion  and  lamb  lay 
down  together — every  man  in  the  Senate  and  House  from  Mas- 
sachusetts and  South  Carolina,  I  think,  voted  for  it,  as  did  my 
honorable  friend  himself.  And  if  it  be  true,  to  use  the  figure 
of  speech  of  my  honorable  friend,  that  every  man  in  the  North  that 
works  in  iron  and  brass  and  wood  has  his  muscle  strengthened 
by  the  protection  of  the  Government,  that  stimulant  was  given 
by  his  vote,  and  I  believe  every  other  Southern  man.  So  we 
ought  not  to  complain  of  that. 

Mr.  Toombs — The  Tariff  assessed  the  duties. 

Mr.  Stephens — Yes,  and  Massachusetts  with  unanimity  voted 
with  the  South  to  lessen  them,  and  they  were  made  just  as  low 
as  Southern  men  asked  them  to  be,  and  that  ia  the  rate  they  are 
now  at.  If  reason  and  argument,  with  experience,  produced 
such  changes  in  the  sentiments  of  Massachusetts  from  1832  to 
1857,  on  the  subject  of  the  Tariff,  may  not  like  changes  be 
effected  there  by  the  same  means — reason  and  argument,  and 
appeals  to  patriotism  on  the  present  vexed  question?  And  who 
can  say  that  by  1875  or  1890  Massachusetts  may  not  vote  with 
South  Carolina  and  Georgia  upon  all  those  questions  that  now 
distract  the  country,  and  threaten  its  peace  and  existence.  I 
believe  in  the  power  and  efficiency  of  truth,  in  the  omnipotence 
of  truth,  and  its  ultimate  triumph  when  properly  wielded. 

Another  matter  of  grievance  alluded  to  by  my  honorable 
friend  was  the  Navigation  Laws.  This  policy  was  also  com- 
menced under  the  Administration  of  one  of  these  Southern 
Presidents  who  ruled  so  well,  and  has  been  continued  through 
aU  of  them  since.  The  gentleman's  views  of  the  policy  of  these 
laws  and  my  own  do  not  disagree.  We  occupied  the  same 
ground  in  relation  to  them  in  Congress.  It  is  not  my  purpose 
to  defend  them  now.  But  it  is  proper  to  state  some  matters  con- 
nected with  their  origin. 

One  of  the  objects  was  to  build  up  a  commercial  American 
marine  by  giving  American  bottoms  the  exclusive  carrying  trade 
between  our  own  ports.  This  is  a  great  arm  of  national  power. 
This  object  was  accomplished.  We  have  now  an  amount  of 
shipping,  not  only  coastwise,  but  to  foreign  countries,  which 
puts  us  in  the  front  rank  of  the  nations  of  the  world.  England 
can  no  longer  be  styled  the  Mistress  of  the  Seaa.  What  Amer- 
ican is  not  proud  of  the  result?  Whether  those  laws  should  be 
continued  is  another  question.     But  one  thing  is  certain:  no 


206  SPEECH  OF  A.   H.   STKniENS,  OF  GEOUOIA. 

President,  Nortlicni  or  Southern,  has  ever  yet  recommended 
their  repeal.  And  my  friend's  efforts  to  get  them  repealed  were 
met  with  but  little  favor,  North  or  South. 

These,  then,  were  the  three  main  grievances  or  ground  of  com- 
plaint against  the  general  system  of  our  (iovernmont  and  its 
workings — I  mean  the  administration  of  tlio  Federal  Ciovern- 
raent.  As  to  tlie  acts  of  the  Federal  States  I  shall  speak  pres- 
ently; but  these  three  were  the  main  ones  used  against  the 
common  head.  Xow,  suppose  it  be  admitted  that  all  these  are 
evils  in  the  system ;  do  they  overbalance  and  outweigh  the  ad- 
vantages wliich  this  same  government  affords  in  a  thousand  ways? 
JJave  we  not  at  the  South,  as  well  aa  the  North,  grown  great,  pros- 
perous, and  happy  under  its  operations?  Has  any  part  of  the 
world  ever  shown  such  rapid  progress  in  the  development  of 
wealth,  and  all  the  material  resources  of  national  power  and 
greatness,  as  the  Southern  States  have  under  the  General  Gov- 
ernment, notwithstanding  all  its  defects? 

Mr.  Toomb.s — In  spite  of  it. 

Mr.  Stephens — ^ly  honoraljle  friend  sajs  wc  have,  in  spite  of 
the  General  Government;  without  it,  I  suppose  he  thinks, 
we  might  have  done  as  well,  or  perhaps  better,  than  we  have 
done  in  spite  of  it.  That  may  be  and  it  may  not  be;  but 
the  great  fact  that  we  have  grown  great  and  powerful  under  the 
(jovcrnment  as  it  exists — there  is  no  conjecture  or  speculation 
about  that;  it  stands  out  bold,  high,  and  prominent,  like  your 
Stone  T^Iountain,  to  which  the  gentleman  alluded  in  illustrating 
home  facts  in  his  record — this  great  fact  of  our  unrivaled  pros- 
perity in  the  Union  is  admitted;  whether  all  this  is  in  spite 
of  the  (iovcrnraent — whether  we  of  the  South  would  have  been 
better  off  without  the  Government — is,  to  say  the  least,  problem- 
atical. On  the  one  side  we  can  only  put  the  fact  against  specu- 
lation and  conjecture  on  the  other.  IJut  even  as  a  question  of 
speculation  1  differ  with  my  distinguished  friend. 

AVhat  vi'o  would  have  lost  in  border  wars  without  the  Union, 
or  what  wo  have  gained  simply  by  the  peace  it  has  secured,  no 
estimate  can  be  made  of  Our  foreign  trade,  which  is  the  found- 
ation of  all  our  prosperity,  has  the  protection  of  the  navy,  which 
drove  the  pirates  from  tlie  waters  near  our  coast,  where  they 
had  been  buccaneering  for  centuries  before,  and  might  have 
been  still  had  it  not  been  for  the  American  Navy  under  the 
command  of  such  spirits  as  Commodore  Porter.  Noav  that  the 
coast  is  clear,  that  our  commerce  Hows  freely  onward,  we  can 
not  well  estimate  how  it  would  have  been  under  other  circum 
stances.  The  influence  of  the  (Jovernment  on  us  is  like  that  of 
the  atmosphere  around  us.  Its  benefits  are  so  silent  and  unseen 
that  they  are  seldom  thought  of  or  appreciated. 


SPEECH  OF  A.   H.  STEl'HEXS,  Of  CEOKGIA.  207 

We  seldom  think  of  the  single  element  of  oxy<!;en  in  the  !\ii- 
■we  breathe,  and  yet  lot  this  simple,  unseen,  and  unfelt  agent  be 
withdrawn,  this  life-giving  element  be  taken  away  from  this  all- 
pervading  fluid  around  us,  and  what  instant  and  appalling 
changes  would  take  place  in  all  organic  creation. 

It  may  be  tliatwe  are  all  that  Ave  are  in  "spite  of  the  General 
Government,"  but  it  may  be  that  without  it  we  would  have  been 
far  different  from  what  we  are  now.  It  is  true  there  is  no  equal 
part  of  the  earth  with  natural  resources  superior  perhaps  to  ours. 
That  portion  of  this  country  known  as  the  Southern  States, 
stretching  from  the  Chesapeake  to  the  KioGrando,  is  fully  eqnai 
to  the  picture  drawn  by  the  honorable  and  eloquent  Senator 
last  night,  in  all  its  natural  capacities.  But  how  many  ages  and 
centuries  passed  before  these  capacities  were  developed  to 
reach  this  advanced  age  of  civilization  ?  There  these  same  hills, 
rich  in  ore,  same  rivers,  same  valleys  and  plains,  are  as  they 
have  been  since  they  came  from  the  hand  of  the  Creator;  uned- 
ucated and  uncivilized  man  roamed  over  them  for  how  long  no 
history  informs  us. 

It  was  only  under  our  institutions  that  they  could  be  develop- 
ed. Their  development  is  the  result  of  the  enterprise  of  our 
people  under  operations  of  the  Government  and  institutions  un- 
der which  we  have  lived.  Even  our  people,  without  these,  never 
would  have  done  it.  The  organization  of  society  has  much  to 
do  with  the  development  of  the  natural  resources  of  any  coun- 
try or  any  land.  The  institutions  of  a  people,  political  and 
moral,  are  the  matrix  in  which  the  germ  of  their  organic  struc- 
ture quickens  into  life — takes  root  and  develops  in  form,  nature, 
and  character.  Our  institutions  constitute  the  basis,  the  ma- 
trix, from  which  spring  all  our  characteristics  of  development 
and  greatness.  Look  at  Greece.  There  is  the  same  fertile  soil, 
the  same  blue  sky,  the  same  inlets  and  harbors,  the  same^Egean, 
the  same  Olympus;  there  is  the  same  land  where  Homer  sung, 
where  Pericles  spoke;  it  is  in  nature  the  same  old  Greece — but 
it  is  living  Greece  no  more. 

Descendants  of  the  same  people  inhabit  the  country;  yet 
what  is  the  reason  of  this  mighty  difference?  In  the  midst  of 
present  degradation  we  see  the  glorious  fragments  of  ancient 
works  of  arts — temples  with  ornaments  and  inscriptions  that 
excite  wonder  and  admiration — the  remains  of  a  once  high  order 
of  civilization  which  have  outlived  the  language  they  spoke — 
upon  them  all  Jchabod  is  written — their  glory  has  departed, 
why  is  this  so?  I  answer,  their  institutions  have  been  destroyed. 
These  were  but  the  fruits  of  their  forms  of  government,  the 
matrix  from  which  their'  grand  development  sprang,  and  when 
onoe  the  institutions  of  a  people  have  been  destroyed,  there  is 
no  earthly  power  that  can  bring  back  the  Promethean  spark  to 


208  SPEECH  OF  A.   H.   STEPHENS,  OF  GEOUGIA. 

kindle  them  hero  again,  any  more  than  in  that  ancient  land  of 
eloquence,  poetry,  and  song. 

'j'hc  same  may  be  said  of  Italy.  Where  is  Rome,  once  the 
mistress  of  the  Avorld?  There  are  the  same  seven  hills  now, 
the  same  soil,  the  same  natural  resources;  nature  is  the  same, 
but  -what  a  ruin  of  human  greatness  meets  the  eye  of  the  trav- 
eler throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  that  most  down-trod- 
den land !  Why  have  not  the  people  of  that  Iloaven-favored 
clime  the  spirit  that  animated  their  fathers?  Why  this  sad  dif- 
ference ? 

It  is  the  destruction  of  her  institutions  that  has  caused  it; 
and,  my  countrymen,  if  we  shall  in  an  evil  hour  rashly  pull 
down  and  destroy  those  institutions  which  the  patriotic  band  of 
our  fixthers  labored  so  long  and  so  hard  to  build  up,  and  which 
have  done  so  much  for  us  and  the  world,  who  can  venture  the 
prediction  that  similar  results  will  not  ensue  ?  Let  us  avoid  it 
if  we  can.  I  trust  the  spirit  is  among  us  that  will  enable  us  to 
do  it.  Let  us  not  rashly  try  the  experiment,  for,  if  it  fails,  as  it 
did  in  Greece  and  Italy,  and  in  the  South  American  Republics, 
and  in  every  other  place  wherever  liberty  is  once  destroyed,  it 
may  never  be  restored  to  us  again. 

There  are  defects  in  our  government,  errors  in  administration, 
and  shortcomings  of  many  kinds  ;  but  in  spite  of  these  defects 
and  errors,  Georgia  has  grown  to  be  a  great  State.  Let  us  pause 
here  a  moment.  In  1850  there  was  a  great  crisis,  but  not  so 
fearful  as  this ;  for,  of  all  1  have  ever  passed  through,  this  is  the 
most  perilous,  and  requires  to  be  met  with  the  greatest  calmness 
and  deliberation. 

There  were  many  among  us  in  1850  zealous  to  go  at  once  out 
of  the  Union,  to  disrupt  every  tie  that  binds  us  together.  Now, 
do  you  believe,  had  that  policy  been  carried  out  at  that  time,  we 
would  have  been  the  same  great  people  that  we  are  to-day?  It 
may  bo  that  we  would,  but  havo  you  any  assurance  of  that  fact? 
Would  you  have  made  the  same  advancement,  improvement,  and 
progress  in  all  that  constitutes  material  wealth  and  prosperity 
that  we  have. 

I  notice,  in  the  Comptroller-General's  report,  that  the  taxable 
property  of  Georgia  is  $670,000,000  and  upward,  an  amount  not 
far  from  double  what  it  was  in  1850.  I  think  I  may  venture  to 
say  that  for  the  last  ten  years  the  material  wealth  of  the  people 
of  Georgia  has  been  nearly  if  not  quite  doubled.  The  same  may 
be  said  of  our  advance  in  education,  and  everything  that  marks 
our  civilization.  Have  we  any  assurance  that,  had  we  regarded 
the  earnest  but  misguided  patriotic  advice,  as  I  think,  of  some  of 
that  day,  and  disrupted  the  ties  which  bind  us  to  the  Union,  we 
would  have  advanced  as  we  have?  I  think  not.  Well,  then,  let 
U8  be  careful  now  before   we   attempt  any  rash  experiment  of 


1 


SPKECU  OK  A.   H.  STEPIIKK.S,  OF  ttHORGIA.  209 

this  sort.  I  know  that  there  arc  friends — whu.-c  patriotism  I  do 
not  intend  to  question — who  think  this  Union  a  curse,  and  that 
we  would  bo  better  off  without  it.  I  do  not  so  think.  If  we 
can  bring  about  a  correction  of  those  evils  which  threaten — and 
I  am  not  Avithout  hope  that  this  may  yet  be  done — this  appeal 
to  go  out,  with  all  the  provisions  fur  good  that  accompany  it,  1 
look  upon  as  a  great,  and  1  fear  a  fatal  temptation. 

When  I  look  around  and  see  our  prosperitj'  in  every  thing, 
agriculture,  commerce,  art,  science,  and  every  department  of 
education,  physical  and  mental,  as  well  as  moral  advancement, 
I  think,  in  the  face  of  such  an  exhibition,  if  we  can,  with- 
out the  loss  of  power,  or  any  essential  right  or  interest, 
remain  in  the  Lnion,  it  is  our  duty  to  ourselves  and  to 
posterity  to — lot  us  not  too  readily  yield  to  this  temptation — do 
so.  Our  first  parents,  the  great  progenitors  of  the  human  race, 
were  not  without  a  like  temptation  when  in  the  garden  of  Eden. 
They  were  led  to  believe  that  their  condition  would  be  bettered 
— that  their  ej'es  would  be  opened — and  that  they  would  become 
as  gods.  They  in  an  evil  hour  yielded — instead  of  becoming 
gods,  they  only  saw  their  own  nakedness. 

I  look  upon  this  country  with  our  institutions  as  the  Eden  of 
the  world,  the  paradise  of  the  universe.  It  may  be  that  out  of 
it  we  may  become  greater  and  more  prosperous,  but  I  am  candid 
and  sincere  in  telling  you  that  1  fear  if  we  rashly  evince  passion, 
and  without  sufficient  cause  shall  take  that  step,  that  instead  of 
becoming  greater  or  more  peaceful,  prosperous  and  happy — in- 
stead of  becoming  gods,  we  will  become  demons,  and  at  no  dis- 
tant day  commence  cutting  one  another's  throats.  This  is  my 
apprehension.  Let  us,  therefore,  whatever  we  do,  meet  these 
difficulties,  great  as  they  are,  like  wise  and  sensible  men,  and 
consider  them  in  the  light  of  all  the  consequences  which  may 
attend  our  action.  Let  us  see  first  clearly  where  the  path  of 
duty  leads,  and  then  we  may  not  fear  to  tread  therein. 

1  come  now  to  the  main  question  put  to  me,  and  on  which  my 
counsel  has  been  asked.  That  is,  what  the  present  Legislature 
should  do  in  view  of  the  danger*  that  threaten  us,  and  the 
wrongs  that  have  been  done  us  by  several  of  our  Confederate 
-States  in  the  Union,  by  the  acts  of  their  legislatures  _  nullifying 
the  fugitive  slave  law,' and  in  direct  disregard  of  their  constitu- 
tional obligations.  What  I  shall  say  will  not  be  in  the  spirit  of 
dictation;  it  will  be  simply  my  own  judgment  for  what  it  is 
worth.  It  proceeds  from  a  strong  conviction  that  according  to 
it  our  rights,  interests,  and  honor — our  present  safety  and  future 
security  can  be  raa,intained  without  yet  looking  to  the  last  re- 
sort, the ''(^ /;"//««  rdifjorcifuwt."  'I'hat  should  not  be  looked  to 
until  all  else  fails.     Thut  may  come.      On  this  point  I  am  hope- 

14 


210  SPEECH  OF  A.  n. 

ful,  but  not  sanj^uine.     But  let  us  use  every  patriotic  effort  to 
prevent  it  while  there  is  ground  for  hope. 

If  any  view  that  1  may  present,  in  your  judc;ment,  be  incon- 
sistent with  the  best  interests  of  Georgia,  1  ask  you,  as  patriots, 
not  to  regard  it.  After  hearing  me  and  others  whom  you  have 
advised  with,  act  in  the  premises  according  to  your  own  con- 
viction of  duty  as  patriots.  1  speak  now  particularly  to  the 
members  of  the  Legislature  present.  There  are,  as  I  have  said, 
great  dangers  ahead.  Great  dangers  may  come  from  the  elec- 
tion 1  have  spoken  of  If  the  policy  of  Mr.  Lincoln  and  his 
associates  shall  be  carried  out,  or  attempted  to  be  carried  out, 
no  man  in  Georgia  will  be  more  willing  or  ready  tlian  myself  to 
defend  our  rights,  interest,  and  honor  at  every  hazard"  and  to 
the  last  extremity. 

What  is  this  policy?  It  is,  in  the  first  place,  to  exclude  us,  by 
an  act  of  Congress,  from  the  Territories  with  our  slave  property. 
He  is  for  using  the  power  of  the  General  Government  against 
the  extension  of  our  institutions.  Our  position  on  this  point  is 
and  ought  to  be,  at  all  hazards,  for  perfect  equality  between  all 
the  States,  and  the  citizens  of  all  the  States,  in  the  Territories, 
under  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  If  Congress 
should  exercise  its  power  against  this,  then  I  am  for  standing 
■where  Georgia  planted  herself  in  1850.  These  were  plain 
propositions  which  were  then  laid  down  in  her  celebrated  plat- 
form as  sufficient  for  the  disruption  of  the  Union  if  the  occasion 
should  ever  come;  on  these  Georgia  has  declared  that  she  will 
go  out  of  the  Union;  and  for  these  she  would  be  justified  by 
the  nations  of  the  earth  in  so  doing. 

I  say  the  same;  I  said  it  then  ;  1  say  it  now,  if  Mr.  Lincoln's 
policy  should  be  carried  out.  I  have  told  you  that  I  do  not 
think  his  bare  election  sufficient  cause:  but  if  his  policy  should 
be  carried  out  in  violation  of  any  of  the  principles  set  forth  in 
the  Georgia  platform,  that  would  bo  such  an  act  of  aggression 
which  ought  to  be  met  as  therein  provided  for.  If  his  policy 
shall  be  carried  out  in  repealing  or  modifying  the  Fugitive  Slave 
law  so  as  to  weaken  its  efficacy,  Georgia  has  declared  that  she 
will,  in  the  last  resort,  disrupt  the  tics  of  the  Union,  and  1  say 
80  too.  1  stand  upon  the  Georgia  platform,  and  upon  every 
plank,  and  say,  if  these  aggressions  therein  provided  for  take 
place — T  say  to  you  and  to  the  people  of  Georgia,  keep  your 
powder  dry,  and  let  your  assailants  then  have  lead,  if  need  be. 
I  would  wait  for  an  act  of  aggression.     This  is  my  position. 

Now  upon  another  point,  and  that  the  most  difficult  and  de- 
serving your  most  serious  consideration,  I  will  speak.  That  is 
the  course  which  this  State  should  pursue  toward  these  North- 
ern States,  which  by  their  legislative  acts  have  attempted  to 
nullify  the  Fugitive  Slave  law.     1  know  that  in   some  of  these 


BPEECn   OF  A.    n.    STEPHENS,   OP   GEORGIA.  211 

States  their  acts  pretend  to  be  based  upon  the  principles  set 
forth  in  the  case  of  I'rig^  against  Pennsylvania;  that  decision 
did  proclaim  the  doctrine  that  the  State  officers  are  not  bound 
to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  a  law  of  Congress — that  the  Fed- 
eral Government  can  not  impose  duties  upon  State  officials — 
that  they  must  execute  their  own  laws  by  their  own  officers. 
And  this  may  be  true.  But  still  it  is  the  duty  of  the  States  to 
deliver  fugitive  slaves,  as  well  as  the  duty  of  the  General  Gov- 
ernment to  see  that  it  is  done. 

Northern  States,  on  entering  into  the  Federal  compact,  pledged 
themselves  to  surrender  such  fugitives;  and  it  is  in  disregard 
of  their  obligations  that  they  had  passed  laws  which  even  tend 
to  hinder  or  obstruct  the  fulfillment  of  that  obligation.  They 
have  violated  their  plighted  faith;  what  ought  we  lo  do  in  view 
of  this?  That  is  the  question.  What  is  to  be  done?  By  the 
law  of  nations  you  would  have  a  right  to  demand  the  carrying 
out  of  this  article  of  agreement,  and  I  do  not  see  that  it  should 
be  otherwise  with  respect  to  the  States  of  this  Union ;  and,  in 
case  it  be  not  done,  we  would  by  these  principles,  have  the  right 
to  commit  acts  of  reprisal  on  these  faithless  governments,  and 
seize  upon  their  property,  or  that  of  their  citizens,  wherever 
found.  The  States  of  this  Union  stand  upon  the  same  footing 
with  foreign  nations  in  this  respect.  But,  by  the  law  of  nations, 
we  are  equally  bound,  before  proceeding  to  violent  measures,  to 
set  forth  our  grievances  before  the  offending  Government,  to 
give  them  an  opportunity  to  redress  the  wrong.  Has  our  State 
yet  done  this?     I  think  not. 

Suppose  it  was  Great  Britain  that  had  violated  some  compact 
of  agreement  with  the  General  Government,  what  would  be  first 
done?  In  that  case  our  Minister  would  be  directed,  in  the  first 
instance,  to  bring  the  matter  to  the  attention  of  that  Government, 
or  a  Commissioner  to  be  sent  to  that  country  to  open  negotiations 
with  her,  ask  for  redress,  and  it  would  only  be  when  argument 
and  reason  had  been  exhausted,  that  we  should  take  the  last 
resort  of  nations.  That  would  be  the  course  toward  a  foreign 
government,  and  toward  a  member  of  this  confederacy  I  would 
recommend  the  same  course. 

Let  us,  therefore,  not  act  hastily  in  this  matter.  Let  your 
Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Republic  make  out  a  bill  of 
grievances;  letitbesent  by  the  Governor  to  those  faithless 
States,  snd  if  reason  and  argument  shall  be  tried  in  vain — if  all 
shall  fail  to  induce  them  to  return  to  their  constitutional  obliga- 
tions— I  would  be  for  retaliatory  measures,  such  as  the  Gov- 
ernor has  suggested  to  you.  This  mode  of  resistance  in  the 
Union  is  in  our  power.  It  might  be  effectual,  and,  if  in  the 
last  resort,  we  would  be  justified  in  the  eyes  of  nations,  not  only 
iu  separating  from  them,  but  by  using  force. 


212  SPEECH    OF    A.    H.    STEPHENS,    OF   GEORGIA. 

[Some  ono  said  the  argument  was  already  exhausted.] 

Mr.  Stephens  continued — Some  friend  says  the  argument  ia 
already  exhausted.  No,  my  friend,  it  is  not.  You  have  never 
called  the  attention  of  the  Legislatures  of  those  States  to  this 
subject,  that  I  am  aware  of.  Nothing  has  ever  been  done  before 
this  year.  The  attention  of  our  own  people  has  been  called  to 
this  subject  lately. 

Now,  then,  my  recommendation  to  you  would  be  this:  In  view 
of  all  these  questions  of  difficulty,  let  a  convention  of  the  people 
of  Georgia  be  called,  to  which  they  may  be  all  referred.  Let 
the  sovereignty  of  the  people  speak.  Some  think-  that  the  elec- 
tion of  l\Ir.  Lincoln  is  cause  sufficient  to  dissolve  the  Union. 
Some  think  those  other  grievances  are  sufficient  to  dissolve  the 
same,  and  that  the  Legislature  has  the  power  thus  to  act,  and 
ought  thus  to  act.  I  have  no  hesitancy  in  saying  that  the  Leg- 
islature is  not  the  proper  body  to  sever  our  Federal  relations,  if 
that  necessity  should  arise.  An  honorable  and  distinguished 
gentleman,  the  other  night  (Mr.  T.  K.  R.  Cobb),  advised  you  to 
take  this  course — not  to  wait  to  hear  from  the  cross-roads  and 
groceries.  I  say  to  you,  you  have  no  power  so  to  act.  You 
must  refer  this  question  to  the  people,  and  you  must  wait  to 
hear  from  the  men  at  the  cross-roads  and  even  the  groceries; 
for  the  people  in  this  country,  whether  at  the  cross-roads  or  the 
groceries,  whether  in  cottages  or  palaces,  are  all  equal,  andthej 
are  the  sovereigns  in  this  country.  Sovereignty  is  not  in  tho 
Legislature.  We,  the  people  are  the  sovereigns.  I  am  one  of 
them,  and  have  a  right  to  be  heard,  and  so  has  any  other  citizen 
of  the  State.  You,  legislators — I  speak  it  respectfully — are  but 
our  servants.  You  are  the  servants  of  the  people,  and  not  tlieii 
masters.     Power  resides  with  the  people  in  this  country. 

The  great  difference  between  our  country  and  all  others,  such 
as  France  and  England  and  Ireland,  is,  that  here  there  is  popu- 
lar sovereignty,  while  there  sovereignty  is  exercised  by  kings 
and  favored  classes.  This  principle  of  popular  sovereignty, 
however  much  derided  lately,  is  the  foundation  of  our  institu- 
tions. Constitutions  are  but  the  channels  through  which  the 
popular  will  may  be  expressed.  Our  Con.stitution  came  from 
the  people.  They  made  it,  and  they  alone  can  rightfully  unmake 
it. 

Mr.  Toombs — I  am  afraid  of  conventions. 

Mr.  Stephens — I  am  not  afraid  of  any  convention  legally  cho- 
sen by  the  people.  1  know  no  way  to  decide  great  questions 
affecting  fundamental  laws  except  by  representatives  of  the 
people.  The  Constitution  of  tho  United  States  was  made  by  the 
representatives  of  the  people.  The  Constitution  of  the  State  of 
Georgia  was  made  by  representatives  of  the  people  chosen  at 
the  ballot-box.     But  do  not  let  the  question  which  comes  before 


SFEKCH    OF   A.    H.    STErDEX'S,    OF   GEORGIA.  213 

tlie  people  be  put  to  tlicm  in  tlie  ]:m,miag«  of  my  honorable 
friend  who  addressed  yuu  last  i)i<rht.  Will  you  Bubmit  to  abo- 
lition rule  or  resist? 

Mr.  Toombs — I  do  not  wish  the  people  to  be  cheated. 

Mr.  Stephens — Now,  uiy  friends,  how  are  we  going  to  cheat 
the  people  by  calling  on  them  to  elect  delegates  to  a  convention 
to  decide  all  these  questions  without  any  dictation  or  direction? 
Who  proposes  to  cheat  the  people  by  letting  them  speak  their 
own  untrammeled  views  in  th«  choice  of  their  ablest  and  best 
men,  to  determine  upon  all  these  matters  involving  their  peace. 

1  think  the  proposition  of  my  honorable  friend  had  a  consid- 
erable smack  of  unfairness,  not  to  say  cheat.  lie  wished  to 
have  no  convention,  but  for  the  Legislature  to  submit  their  vote 
to  the  people — submission  to  abolition  rule  or  resistance  ?  Now 
who,  in  Georgia,  would  vote  "submission  to  abolition  rule"? 

Is  putting  such  a  question  to  the  people  to  vote  on  a  fair  way 
of  getting  an  expression  of  the  popular  will  on  all  these  ques- 
tions? I  think  not.  Now,  who  in  Georgia  is  going  to  submit 
to  aljolition  rule? 

?.Ir.  Toombs — The  convention  will. 

Mr.  Stephens — No,  my  friend,  Georgia  will  never  do  it.  The 
convention  wijl  never  secede  from  the  Georgia  Platform.  Under 
that  there  can  be  no  abolition  rule  in  the  General  Government. 
1  am  not  afraid  to  trust  the  people  in  convention  upon  this  and 
all  questions.  Besides,  the  Legislature  was  not  elected  for  such 
a  purpose.  They  came  here  to  do  their  duty  as  legislators. 
They  have  sworn  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States.  They  did  not  come  here  to  disrupt  this  Government.  I 
am  therefore  for  submitting  all  ihese  questions  to  a  convention 
of  the  people.  Submit  the  question  to  the  people,  whether  they 
would  submit  to  an  abolition  rule  or  resist,  and  then  let  the  Leg- 
islature act  upon  that  vote?  Such  a  course  would  be  an  insult 
to  the  people.  They  would  have  to  cat  their  platform,  ignore 
their  past  history,  blot  out  their  records,  and  take  steps  back- 
ward, if  they  should  do  this.  1  have  never  yet  eaten  my  record 
or  words,  and  never  will. 

But  how  will  it  be  under  this  arrangement  if  they  should  vote 
to  resist,  and  the  Legislature  should  re-assemble  with  this  vote 
as  their  instruction?  Can  any  man  tell  what  sort  of  resistance 
will  be  meant?  One  man  would  says  secede;  another  pass  re- 
taliatory measures ;  these  are  measures  of  resistance  against 
wrong — legitimate  and  right — p.nd  there  would  be  as  many  dif- 
ferent ideas  as  there  are  members  on  this  floor.  Resistance 
don't  mean  secession — that,  in  no  proper  sense  of  the  term,  is 
resistance.  Believing  that  the  times  require  action,  I  am  for 
presenting  the  question  fairly  to  the  people,  for  calling  together 
an  untrammeled  convention,  and  presenting  all  the  questions  to 


214  SPEECH    OF   A.    n.    STF.TIIKNa    OF   GEORGIA. 

them  ■whether  they  will  go  out  of  tlio  Union,  or  what  course  of 
resistance  iu  the  Union  they  iniiy  think  best,  and  then  let  the 
Legislature  act,  when  the  people  in  their  majesty  are  heard; 
and  1  toll  you  now,  whatever  that  convention  doe^,  I  hope  and 
trust  our  people  will  abide  by.  1  advise  the  calling  of  a  con- 
vention with  the  earnest  desire  to  preserve  the  peace  and  har- 
mony of  the  iState.  1  should  dislike,  above  all  things,  to  see 
violent  measures  adopted,  or  a  disposition  to  take  the  sword  in 
hand,  by  individuals,  without  the  authority  af  law. 

My  honorable  friend  said  last  night,  "I  ask  you  to  give  me 
the  Bword,  for  if  you  do  not  give  it  to  me,  as  God  lives,  I  will 
take  it  myself" 

Mr.  Toombs — I  will. 

Mr.  Stephens — I  have  no  doubt  that  my  honorable  friend 
feels  as  he  says.  It  is  only  his  excessive  ardor  that  makes  him 
use  such  an  expression;  but  this  will  pass  ofl'  with  the  excite- 
ment of  the  hour.  When  the  people  in  their  majesty  shall 
speak,  1  have  no  doubt  that  he  will  bow  to  their  will,  whatever 
it  may  be  upon  the  "sober  second  thought." 

Should  Georgia  determine  to  go  out  of  the  Union — I  speak  for 
one,  though  my  views  might  not  agree  with  them — whatever  the 
result  may  be,  I  shall  bow  to  the  will  of  her  people.  TheiY 
cause  is  my  cause,  and  their  destiny  is  my  destiny ;  and  I  trust 
this  will  be  the  ultimate  course  of  all.  The  greatest  curse  that 
can  befall  a  free  people  ia  civil  war. 

IJut,  as  I  said,  let  us  call  a  convention  of  the  people ;  let  all 
these  matters  be  submitted  to  it,  and  when  the  will  of  a  majority 
of  the  people  has  been  thus  expressed,  the  whole  State  will  pre- 
sent one  unanimous  voice  in  favor  of  whatever  may  be  demand- 
ed; fori  believe  in  the  power  of  the  people  to  govern  themselves, 
when  wisdom  prevails  and  passion  is  silent. 

Look  at  what  lias  already  been  done  by  them  for  advance- 
ment in  all  that  ennobles  man.  There  is  nothing  like  it  in  the 
history  of  the  world.  Look  abroad  from  one  extent  of  the 
country  to  the  other — contemplate  our  greatness.  We  are  now 
among  the  first  nations  of  the  earth.  Shall  it  bo  said,  then,  that 
our  institutions,  founded  upon  principles  of  self  government,  are 
a  failure? 

Thus  far  it  is  a  noble  example,  worthy  of  imitation.  The 
gentleman,  Mr.  Cobb,  the  other  night  said  it  had  proven  a  fail- 
ure. A  failure  in  what?  In  growth?  Look  at  our  expanse  in 
national  power.  Look  at  our  population  and  increase  in  all  that 
makes  a  people  great.  A  failure?  Why,  we  are  the  admira- 
tion of  the  civilized  world,  and  present  the  brightest  hopes  of 
mankind. 

Some  of  our  public  men  have  failed  in  their  aspirations;  that 
is  true,  and  from  that  come  a  great  part  of  our  troubles. 


SPEECH    OF   A.    II.    STEPHENS,    OF   GEORGIA.  215 

No,  there  ia  no  failure  of  this  Government  yet.  We  have 
made  };re«.t  advanceraent  usder  the  Constitution,  and  I  can  not 
but  hope  that  we  shall  advance  higher  still.  Let  us  be  true  to 
our  cause. 

Now,  when  this  convention  assembles,  if  it  shall  be  called,  as 
I  hope  it  may,  I  would  say  in  ray  judgment,  without  dictation, 
for  1  am  conferring  with  you  freely  and  frankly,  and  it  is  thus 
that  I  give  my  views,  I  should  take  into  consideration  all  those 
qae-stions  which  distract  the  public  mind;  should  view  all  the 
grounds  of  secession  so  far  as  the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln  is 
concerned,  and  I  have  no  doubt  they  would  say  that  the  consti- 
tutional election  of  no  man  is  sufficient  cause  to  break  up  the 
Union,  but  that  the  State  should  wait  until  he  at  least  does  some 
unconstitutional  act. 

Mr.  Toombs — Commit  some  overt  act. 

Mr.  i^tephens — No,  I  did  not  say  that.  The  word  overt  ia  a 
sort  of  technical  term  connected  with  treason,  which  has  come 
to  us  from  the  mother  country,  and  it  means  an  open  act  of  re- 
bellion. 1  do  not  see  how  Mr.  Lincoln  can  do  this  unless  he 
should  levy  war  upon  us.  I  do  not  therefore  use  the  word  overt. 
I  do  not  intend  to  wait  for  that.  But  I  use  the  word  unconsti- 
tutional act,  which  our  people  understand  much  better,  and 
which  expresses  just  what  I  mean.  But  as  long  as  he  conforms 
to  the  Constitution,  he  should  be  left  to  exercise  the  duties  of  his 
office. 

In  giving  this  advice  I  am  but  sustaining  the  Constitution  of 
my  country,  and  I  do  not  thereby  become  a  Lincoln  aid  man 
either,  but  a  Constitutional  aid  man.  But  this  matter  the  con- 
vention can  determine. 

As  to  the  other  matter,  I  think  we  have  a  right  to  pass  retali- 
atory measures,  provided  they  be  in  accordance  with  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States,  and  I  think  they  can  be  made  such. 
But  whether  it  would  be  wise  for  this  Legislature  to  do  this  now 
is  the  question.  To  the  convention,  in  my  judgment,  this  mat- 
ter ought  to  be  referred.  Before  we  commit  reprisal  on  New 
England  we  should  exhaust  every  means  of  bringing  about  a 
peaceful  solution  of  the  question. 

Thus  did  Gen.  Jackson  in  the  case  of  the  French.  He  did  not 
recommend  reprisals  until  he  had  treated  with  France,  and  gut 
her  to  promise  to  make  indemnilication,  and  it  was  only  on  her 
refusal  to  pay  the  money  which  she  had  promised  that  he  recom- 
mended reprisals.  It  was  after  negotiation  had  failed.  I  do 
think,  therefore,  that  it  would  be  best,  before  going  to  extreme 
measures  with  our  Confederate  States,  to  make  a  presentation 
of  our  demands,  to  appeal  to  their  reason  and  judgment  to  give 
us  our  rights.  Then,  if  reason  should  not  triumph,  it  will  be 
time  enough  to  commit  reprisals,  and  we  should  be  justified  in 


216  SPEECH  OP  A.   n.   STEPHENS,  OF  fiEORGIA. 

the  ejes  of  the  civilized  worlil.  At  loiist,  let  the  Stiitcs  know 
■what  your  grievances  are,  and  if  they  refiiso,  as  1  said,  to  give 
us  our  ri;;hts  under  the  Constitution  of  our  country,  1  should  be 
willing,  as  a  last  resort,  to  sever  the  ties  of  this  Union. 

My  own  opinion  is,  that  if  this  course  be  pursued,  and  they 
arc  informed  of  the  consequences  of  refusal,  these  States  will 
secede;  but  if  they  should  not,  then  let  the  consequences  be 
with  them,  and  let  the  responsibility  of  the  consequences  rest 
upon  them.  Another  thini;;  1  would  have  tliat  convention  to  do. 
Re-affirm  the  Georgia  platform  with  an  additional  plank  in  it. 
Let  that  plank  be  the  fulfillment  of  the  obligation  on  the  part 
of  those  States  to  repeal  these  obno.xious  laws  as  condition  of 
our  remaining  in  the  Union.  f!ive  them  time  to  consider  it,  and 
1  would  ask  all  States  south  to  do  the  same  thing. 

1  am  for  exhausting  all  that  patriotism  can  demand  before 
taking  the  last  step.  1  would  invite,  therefore.  South  Carolina 
to  a  conference,  I  would  ask  the  same  of  all  the  other  South- 
ern States,  so  that  if  the  evil  has  got  bej'ond  our  control,  which 
God,  in  his  mercy,  grant  may  not  be  the  case,  let  us  not  be  di- 
vided, among  ourselves,  but,  if  possible,  secure  the  united  co- 
operation of  all  the  Southern  States;  and  then,  in  the  face  of  the 
civilized  world,  we  may  justify  our  action;  and,  with  the  wrong 
all  on  the  otlier  side,  we  can  appeal  to  the  God  of  battles  to  aid 
us  in  our  cause.  But  let  us  not  do  any  thing  in  which  any  por- 
tion of  our  people  may  charge  us  with  rash  or  hasty  action.  It 
is  certainly  a  matter  of  great  importance  to  tear  this  Govern- 
ment assunder.  You  were  not  sent  here  for  that  purpose.  I 
would  wish  the  whole  South  to  be  united  if  this  is  done;  and  1 
believe,  if  we  pursue  the  policy  which  I  have  indicated,  this 
can  be  effected. 

In  this  way  our  sister  Southern  States  can  be  induced  to  act 
with  us,  and  I  have  but  little  doubt  that  the  States  of  New  York, 
and  Pennsylvania,  and  Ohio,  and  the  other  Western  States,  will 
compel  their  Legislatures  to  recede  from  their  hostile  attitudes 
if  the  others  do  not.  Then  with  these  we  would  go  on  without 
New  England  if  she  choose  to  stay  out. 

A  voice  in  the  assembly — Wo  will  kick  them  out. 

Mr.  Stephens — 1  would  not  kick  them  out.  But  if  they  chose 
to  stay  out,  they  might.  1  think,  moreover,  that  these  Northern 
States,  being  principally  engaged  in  manufactures,  would  find 
that  they  had  as  much  interest  in  the  Union  under  the  Consti- 
tution as  we,  and  that  they  would  return  to  their  constitutional 
duty — this  would  be  my  hope.  If  they  should  not,  and  if  the 
Middle  States  and  Western  States  do  not  join  us,  we  should  at 
least  have  an  undivided  South.  1  am,  as  you  clearly  perceive, 
for  maintaining  the  Union  as  it  is,  if  possible.      1  will  exhaust 


SPEECH  Olf  A.    H.    ST£i'IH:XS,  OF  UEOKGIA.  217 

every  moiins  thus  to  maintain  it  with  an  equality  in  it.  My 
principles  are  these: 

First,  the  maintenance  of  the  honor,  the  rights,  the  equality, 
the  security,  and  tiie  glory  of  my  native  State  in  the  Union  ; 
but  if  these  can  not  be  maintained  in  the  Union,  then  I  am  for 
their  maintenance,  at  all  hazards,  out  of  it.  Next  to  the  honor 
and  glory  of  Georgia,  the  land  of  my  birth,  1  hold  the  honor 
and  clory  of  my  common  country.  In  Savannah  I  was  made  to 
say,  by  the  reporters — who  very  often  make  me  say  things  which 
I  never  did  say — that  I  was  first  for  the  glory  of  the  whole 
country,  and  next  for  that  of  Georgia. 

I  said  the  exact  reverse  of  this.  I  am  proud  of  her  history, 
of  her  present  standing.  I  am  proud  even  of  her  motto,  which 
I  would  have  dul}'  respected  at  the  present  time  by  all  her  sons 
— Wisdom,  Justice,  and  Moderation.  I  would  have  her  rights 
and  that  of  the  Southern  States  maintained  now  upon  these 
principles.  Her  position  now  is  just  what  it  was  in  1860,  with 
respect  to  the  Southern  States.  Her  platform  then  has  been 
adopted  by  most,  if  not  all  the  other  Southern  States.  Now  1 
would  add  but  one  additional  plank  to  that  platform,  which  I 
have  stated,  and  one  which  time  has  shown  to  be  necessary. 

If  all  this  ftiils,  we  shall  have  the  satisfaction  of  knowing 
that  we  have  done  our  duty  and  all  that  patriotism  could  re- 
quire. 


Pay  of  Officers  of  the  United  States, 

CIVIL  AND    MILITARY. 


EXECUTIVE   DEPARTMENT. 


President $25,000  per  annum 

Private  Secretary 2,500  "  " 

Private  Hecretary  to  sign  Patents 1,500  "  " 

Vice  President 8,000  "  " 

HEADS    OF    DEPARTMENTS. 

Secretary  of  State ?  \000  per  annum 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury 8,1)00  "  " 

•Secretary  of  War 8,000  "  " 

Secretary  of  the  Navy 8,000  "  " 

Secretary  of  the  interior 8,000  "  " 

Postmaster  General 8,000  "  " 

Attorney  General 8,000  "  " 

MINISTERS  AND  DIPLOMATIC  AGENTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  IN 
FOREIGN  COUNTRIES  —  ENVOYS  EXTRAORDINARY  AND  MINISTERS 
PLENIPOTENTIARY. 

Minister  to  Great  Britain $17,500  per  annum 

Minister  to  Russia 12,000  "  " 

Minister  to  France 17,500  "  '•♦ 

Minister  to  Spain 12,000  "  " 

Minister  to  Prussia 12,000  "  » 

Minister  to  Austria 12,000  "  " 

Minister  to  Italy 12,000  " 

Minister  to  China 12,000  "  " 

Minister  to  Mexico 12,000  "  " 

Minister  to  Brazil 12,000  "  " 

Minister  to  Chili 10,000  "  " 

Minister  to  Peru..... 10,000  "  " 

Minister  to  Nicaragua 7,000  "  " 

(21S) 


PAT  OF  OFFICERS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


219 


M 
U 
M 
M 
M 
M 
U 
M 
U 
M 
M 
M 
M 
M 
M 
M 
M 
M 


in 

«ter  i 

in 

ster  i 

in 

ster  i 

in 

ster  i 

ini 

ster  i 

in 

ster  i 

in 

ster  i 

m 

ster  i 

in 

ster  i 

in 

8ter  i 

m 

ster  i 

in 

ister  i 

in 

ister  i 

in 

ister  i 

in 

ister  i 

m 

later  i 

in 

ister  i 

m 

ister  i 

MINISTERS    RESIDENT. 

n  Portugal $7,500  per  annum 

n  Belsium 7,500 

n  Netherlands 7,500 

n  Denmark 7,500 

n  Sweden  and  Norway 7,500 

n  Switzerland 7,500 

n  Pontif  States 7,500 

n  Turkey 7,500 

n  Japan 7,500 

n  Costa  Rica 7,500 

n  Guatemala 7,500 

n  Honduras 7,500 

n  Salvador 7,500 

n  New  Granada 7,500 

n  Venezuela ^ 7,500 

n  Ecuador 7,-500 

n  Argentine  Confederation ..  7,500 

n  llawaiin  Islands 7,500 


WAR    DEPARTMENT. 

Secretary  of  War $8,000 

Assistant  Secretary  of  War 3,000 

Second  Assistant  Secretary  of  War 3,000 

Commander-in-Chief., 5,340 

Adjutant  General.  3,594 

Assistant  Adjutant  GeneraL 2,532 

Second  Assistant  Adjutant  General 1,956 

Third  Assistant  Adjutant  General 1,956 

Fourth  Assistant  Adjutant  GeneKil 1,956 

Chief  Clerk  Adjutant  General's  Bureau 1,800 

Inspector  General 2,532 

Judge  Advocate  General 2,532 

Deputy  Judge  Advocate 1,956 

Quartermaster  General..^ 3,594 

Deputy  Quartermaster  General 2,244 

Assistant  Quartermaster .^ 2,a32 

Chief  Clerk  Quartermaster's  Bureau 1,800 

Chief  Engineer 3,594 

Assistant  Engineer 1,596 

Chief  Clerk  of  Engineer  Bureau 1,800 

Provost  Marshal  General 

Surgeon  General 3,594 

Assistant  Surgeon  General 2,532 

Chief  Clerk  Surgeon  General's  Bureau 1,800 

Chief  of  Ordnance 3,594 


per 

u 


annum 


220  PAY  OF  OFFlCEltS  OF  TIIK    LNITKI)    STATUS. 

Assistant  Chief  of  Ordnance J,');j4  per  annum 

("liief  Clerk  of  Ordnanco  Bureau I.SOO  "  " 

Paymaster  Ceneral 2.740  "  " 

Deputy  I'aymastcr  General 2,144  "  " 

Additional  rayiiiastcr 1,950  "  " 

(Jliief  Clerk  Payniastor  (Jeneral's  15ureau 1,800  "  " 

Commissary  General  of  h^ubsi.'<tcnce 2,532  "  " 

Assistant  Commissary  General 1,'.)5G  "  " 

.Second  Assistant  Comniis:<ary  General 1,956  "  " 

Chief  Clerk  Commissary  General's  IJureau...   1,800  "  '* 

GEXERAL    OFFICERS. 

Lieutenant  General $720  00  per  month 

Aids-de-camp  and  military  secretary  to  Lieu- 
tenant General,  each 170  00     "  " 

Major  (Joneral 445  00     "  " 

Senior  Aid-de-camp  to  (jeneralin-Chief 103  00     "  " 

Aid-de-camp,    in    addition    to   pay,    etc.,    of 

Lieutenant  or  Captain 24  00     "  " 

Brigadier  General 299  50     "  " 

Aid-de-camp,    in    addition    to    pay,    etc.,    as 

Lieutenant ' 11   00     "  " 

ADJUTANT     general's    DEPARTMENT. 

Adjutant  General — IJrigadier  General $407  50  per  month 

Assistant  Adjutant  General — Colonel 211  00  "  " 

Assistant  Adjutant  General— Lt.  Colonel 187  00  "  " 

Assistant  Adjutant  (Jenoral— Major 103  00  "  '' 

Judge  Advocate  General— Colonel 211  00  "  " 

Judge  Advocate— Major 1G3  00  "  " 

Division  Major 1G3  00  " 


u 


INSPECTOR    GENERAL,  S    DEPARTMENT. 

Inspector  General — Colonel $211  00  per  month 

Assistant  Inspector  General — Major 103  00     "         ■' 

signal    DEPARTMENT. 

Signal  OfBcer— Colonel $211  00  per  month 

PAY     DEPARTMENT. 

Paymaster  General $288  33  per  month 

Deputy  Paymaster  General 187  00     "         " 

Paymaster 103  00     "        " 


PAY  OF  OFFICERS  OF  TIIF.    rMTED    .STATKS.  221 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  CORPS  OF  ENGINEERS,  TOPOGRArillCAL  ENGINEERS, 
AND    ORDNANCE    DEPARTMENT. 

Chief  of  Ordinance— Brigadier  General $407  50  per  month 

Colonel .": 211  00     " 

Lieutenant  Colonel 187  00 

Major 163  00 

Captain.... 129  50     ''^         ''^ 

First  Lieutenant 112  83     "  ' 

Second  Lieutenant 112  83 

Brevet  Second  Lieutenant 112  83 

OFFICERS    OF  MOUNTED   DRAGOONS,  CAVALRY,   RIFLEMEN,  AND    LIGHT 

ARTILLERY'. 

Colonel ?'-n  00  per  month 

Lieutenant  Colonel 187  00 

Major 163  00     " 

Captain 12'J  50     ;|         " 

First  Lieutenant 112  83 

Second  Lieutenant 112  83 


K  (( 


CO         U  U 


Brevet  Second  Lieutenant 112  S3 

quartermaster's  department. 

(Quartermaster  General— Brigadier  General.. $407  50  per  month 
Assistant  Quartermaster  General— Colonel...  211  00     "         " 
Deputy  Quartermaster  General— Lt.  Colonel  187  00     "         " 

(Quartermaster — Major 163  00 

Assistant  Quartermaster — Captain 129  50     " 

subsistence  department. 

Commissary  General  of  Subsistence — Briga- 
dier General $299  50  per  month 

Assistant  Commissary  General — Lt.  Colonel..  187  00  "         " 

Commissary  of  Subsistence — Major 163  00  "         " 

Commissary  of  Subsistence— Captain 129  50  "         " 

Assistant  Commissary  of  Subsistence,  in  ad- 
dition to  pay,  etc.,  as  Lieutenant 11  00  " 


u 


MEDICAL    department.  ■' 

Surgeon  General — Brigadier  General $299  50  per  month 

Assistant  Surgeon  General 21100  "  " 

Medical  Inspector  General 211  00  "  " 

Medical  Inspector 187  00  " 

Surgeons  of  ten  years'  service 199  00  "  " 

Surgeons  of  less  than  ten  years'  service 163  00  "  " 


22'">  PAY  OF  OFFICERS  OP  THE   UNITED   STATES, 

Assistant  Surgeons  of  ten  years'  service 1G5  50  per  month 

Assistant  Snrizeons  of  five  years'  service 129  50  ''  " 

Assistant  Surireons  of  loss   than   five  years' 

service 112  83  "  " 

Adjutant,    Regimental    Qui'.rti'rmaster,    and 
Regimental     Commissary,    in    addition    to 

pay  of  Lieutenant,  cacli 10  00  "  ** 

OFFICERS  OF  ARTILLERY  AND  INFANTRY. 

Colonel $194  00  per  month 

Lieutenant  Colonel 170  00  "  «' 

Major 151  00  "  " 

Captain 118  50  "  " 

First  Lieutenant 108  50  "  " 

Second  Lieutenant 103  50  "  " 

Brevet  h^econd  Lieutenant 103  50  "  " 

Adjutant,  in  addition  to  pay,  etc.,  of  Lieut...     10  00  "  " 
Regimental    Quartermaster,    in    addition   to 

pay,  etc.,  of  Lieutenant 10  00  "  '* 

PAY  OF  NON-COMMISSIONED  OFFICERS,  PRIVATES,  ETC. CAVALRY. 

Sergeant-Major $21   00  per  month 

Quartermaster  Sergeant 21   00  "  " 

Chief  Bugler 21  00  "  " 

First  Sergeant 20  00  "  " 

Sergeant.. 17  00  "  " 

Saddler  Sergeant 21  00  "  " 

Commissary  Sergeant 21  00  "  " 

Hospital  Steward 30  00  "  " 

Corporal 14  00  "  " 

Bugler,  or  Trumpeter 13  00  "  " 

Ferrier  and  Blacksmith 15  00  "  " 

Private 13  00  "  " 

Veterinary  Surgeon 75  00  "  " 

African  under-cooks 10  00  "  " 

ORDNANCE. 

Sergeant $34  00  per  month 

Corporal 20  00  "  " 

Wagoner 14  00  "  *• 

Saddler 14  00  "  " 

Private— first  class 17  00  "  " 

IVivate — second  class 16  00  "  ** 


PAY  OF  OFFICERS  OF  THE    UNITED   STATES.  223 


ARTILLERY    AXD     INFANTRY. 


Sergeant-Major $21  00  per  month 

Quartermaster  Sergjeant 21  00     "  " 

Commissary  iSerj^eant 21  00     "  " 

First  Sergeant........ 20  00     "  " 

Sergeant.'. 17  00     "  " 

Hospital  Steward 30  00     "  " 

Corporal 14  00     "  " 

Artificer,  Artillery 15  00     "  " 

Private 13  00     "  " 

Principal  IMusician 21  00     "  " 

Musician 12  00     "  " 

African  under-cooks 10  00     "  " 

SAPPERS  AND  MINERS,  AND  PONTOONIERS. 

Sergeant $34  00  per  month 

Corporal 20  00     "  ■" 

Private— first  class 17  00     "  " 

Private — second  class 16  00     "  " 

Musician 12  00     "  " 

African  under-cooks 10  00     "  " 

BRIGADE    BANDS. 

Leader $45L.  00  per  month 

Four  of  the  Band 34  00     "  " 

Eight  of  the  Band 17  00     "  " 

Four  of  the  Band 20  00     "  " 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Medical  Cadets $30  00     "  " 

Hospital  Steward— first  class 22  00     ''  " 

Matron 6  00     "  » 

Female  nurses  40  cents  per  day. 

PAY  OF  THE  NAVY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

BEAR    ADMIRALS  —  ACTIVE    LIST. 

When  at  sea , $5,000  per  annum 

When  on  shore  duty 4,000     "  " 

On  leave,  or  waiting  orders 3,000     "  " 

On  Retired  List 2,000     "  " 


224                       PAY  OF  OFFICERS  OF  'IHI-:    IMTISU    STATES. 
COMMODOF.F.S ACTIVE    LIST. 

When  at  sea $4,000  per  annum 

When  on  shore  duty 2,800     "         " 

On  leave,  or  waiting  orders 2,100     "         " 

On  Retired  List 1,600     "         " 

COMMANDEK.S ACTIVE    LIST. 


Wlien  at  sea $2,800  per  annum 

When  on  shore  duty 2,240     " 

On  leave,  or  waiting  orders 1,680     "         " 

On  Ketired  List 1,400     " 

LIEDTINANT    COMMANDER.S  —  ACTIVE    LIST. 

When  at  sea $2,343  per  annum 

When  on  shore  duty 1,875     "         " 

On  leave,  or  waiting  orders .'..  1,500     "         " 

On  Ketired  List 1,300     "         " 

LIEUTENANTS  —  ACTIVE   LIST. 

When  at  sea $1,875  per  annum 

When  on  shore  duty 1,500     " 

On  leave,  or  waiting  orders 1,200     "         " 

On  Retired  List 1,000     " 

MASTERS ACTIVE  LIST. 

When  at  sea $1,500  per  annum 

When  on  shore  duty 1,200     "         " 

On  leave,  or  waiting  orders 960     "         " 

On  Ketired  List 800     "         " 

ENSIGNS  —  ACTIVE    LIST. 

When  at  sea $1,200  per  annum 

When  on  shore  duty 960     "         " 

On  leave,  or  waiting  orders 768     "         " 

On  Retired  List....'.' 500     "         " 

Midshipmen 500     "         " 

Fleet  Surgeons. 3,300     "         " 

SURGEONS. 

For  second  five  years  after  date  of  commis- 

■ion $2,400  per  annum 


PAY  OF  OFFICKRS  OF  THE  TTNITED   STATES.  225 

RETIRED    SURGEONS. 

Surgeons  ranking  with  commanders $1,100  per  annum, 

Surgeons  ranking  with  lieutenants 1,000     "^        " 

RETIRED  PASSED  AND  ASSISTANT  SURGEONS. 

Passed $850  per  annum 

Assistant 650     "         " 

PASSED    ASSISTANT    SURGEONS. 

On  duty  at  sea. ..$1,500  per  annum 

On  Other  duty 1,400     "         " 

On  leave,  or  waiting  orders 1,100     "         " 

ASSISTANT    SURGEONS. 

On  duty  at  sea ,.., ..$1,250  per  annum 

On  Other  duty 1,050     "         » 

On  leave,  or  waiting  orders 800     "         " 

PAYMASTERS. 

On  duty  at  sea — for  fourth  five  years  after 

date  of  commission $2,900  per  annum 

PAYMASTERS    RETIRED. 

Ranking  with  Captains $1,300  per  annum 

Ranking  with  Commanders 1,100     "         " 

Ranking  with  Lieutenants 1,000     "         " 


ASSISTANT    PAYMASTERS. 

On  duty  at  sea — after  five  years  from  date  of 

commission $1,500  per  annum 

On  leave,  or  waiting  orders 800     "        " 

CHAPLAINS, 

To  be  paid  as  Lieatenauts. 

PROFESSORS   OF    MATHEMATICS. 

On  duty $1,800  per  annum 

On  leave,  or  waiting  orde-rs..^ 960     "         '* 

BOATSWAINS,  GUNNERS,  CARPENTERS,  AND    SAILMAKEKSv 

On  duty  at  sea — for  fisrst  three  years'  sea  ser- 
vice from  date  o.f  appointment $1,000  per  annum 

15 


226  PAY  OF  OFFICKPS  OF  THE    UNITED    STATES. 


For  twelve  years'  service  and  upwards 1,450  per  annum 

On  leave,  or  wuitini:  orders — for  twelve  years' 
eea  service  "and  upwards li( 


1,000     '•        " 


CniKF    ENGINEERS 


On   duty — for  first  five   years    after  date  of 

commission ..••. ?1,S00  per  annum 

After  fifteen  years  from  date  of  commission...  2,C00 
On  leave,  or  waiting  orders,  after  fifteen  years 

from  date  of  commission 1,500 


FIRST   ASSISTANT    ENGINEERS. 


On  duty ^I/^OO  V^f  annum 

On  leave,  or  waiting  orders '^00 


SECOND    ASSIST.VNT    ENGINEER!?. 


On  duty 81,000  per  annum 

On  leave,  or  waiting  orders 750 


NAVY   AGENT. 


Commission  not  to  exceed $3,000  per  annum 

Navy  Agent  at  San  Francisco 4,000     "         " 

Temporary  Navy  Agents 

Naval  Storekeepers 


Officers  of  the  Navy  on  Foreign  .Stations $1,500  per  annum 

Engineer-in-Chief 3,000     " 

Naval  Constructors 2,600     "  " 

'*                   •'           when  nut  on  duty 1.800     "  '| 

Secretaries  to  commanders  of  squadrons 1,500     "  " 

Clerks  to  commanders  of  squadrons  and  com- 
manders of  vessels •. —      500     "  " 

At  Navy  Yards— IJoston  and  New  York 1,200     "  " 

At  Navy  Yard— Washington 1,200     "  " 

At   Navy    Yards — Portsmouth,    N.    II.,    and 

Philadelphia 1,200     "  " 

At  Navy  Yard— :M are  Island 1,500     "  " 

YEOMEN. 

In  Bhips-of-theline $45  00  per  month 

In  frigates 40  00     "  " 

In  sloops 30  00     "  " 

In  smaller  vessels.. 24  00     ''  " 


PAY  OF  OFFICERS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  227 


il 

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u 

(( 

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l( 

(( 

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s< 

ARMORERS. 

[n  ships-of-the-line $30  00  per  month 

In  frigates 25  00     "         " 

In  sloops 20  00     "         " 

JIATES. 

Master's  (Acting) $40  00  per  month 

Boatswains 25  00     "         " 

Gunners 25  00 

Carpenters 25  00     " 

Sailmakers 20  00     " 

Armorers 20  00 

Masters-at-Arms 25  00 

Ship's  Corporals •. 20  00 

Coxwains 24  00 

Quartermasters 24  00 

Quarter  Gunners 20  00 

CAPTAINS. 

Of  forecastle 124  00  per  month 

Of  tops 20  00 

Of  afterguard 20  00 

Of  hold 20  00 

Coopers... 20  00 

Painters 20  00 

STEWARDS. 

Ship's $30  00  per  month 

Officers' 20  00     "        " 

Surgeons',  where    ship's  complement  is  400 

aSdover ^ : 40  00     " 

Surgeons',  where  ship's  complement  is  200 

and  under  400 33  00     "         " 

Surgeons',  where  ship's  complement  is  under 

200 , 25  00     "        " 

Paymaster's,  where  ship's  complement  is  240 

and  over 33  00     " 

Assistant  Paymaster's,  where  complement  is 

100  and  over 33  00     "        " 

Assistant  Paymaster's,  where  complement  is 

under  100..... 30  00     "        " 


1( 

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II 

228  PAT  OF  OmCEES  OF  THE   ITNrTED   STATES. 


NURSES. 


Where  complement  ia  less  than  200,  one  nurse.$14  00  per  month 
Where  complement  is  over  200,  two  nurses, 

each 14  00    " 


C00K8. 


Ship's - $24  00  per  month 

Officer's ^^.~ „«  20  00    '• 

MUSICIANS. 

Masters  of  the  Band..^-......,.^ ^ $20  00  per  month 

First  class ^ 15  00     "        " 

Second  class 12  00    "        " 

Seamen $18  00  per  month 

Ordinary  Seamen 14  00     "        " 

Landsmen 12  00     " 

Boys 8-9  00    " 

FIEEMEN. 

First  class $30  00  per  month 

Second  class ^ ~ «- 25  00    "        " 

Coal  Heavers.. « - ...« 18  00    " 

MAEIXB  CORPS. 

Colonel  Commandant,. $3,180  00  per  annum 

Paymaster,  with  rank  of  Major 2,154  00     "         " 

Adjutant   and   Inspector,   with   rank    of 

Major 2,154  00 

Quartermaster,  with  rank  of  Major 2,154  00 

Assistant  Quartermaster,   with   rank    of 

Captain.... 1,752  00 

Colonel « 2,529  00 

Lieutenant  Colonel 2,239  50 

Major ^ 2,010  00 

Note. — By  a  late  act  of  Congress,  the  monthly  pay  of  private  soldiers  has  been 
increased  three  dollars,  that  of  non-commissioned  officers  being  proportionately 
adisanced.  And  a  tax  of  five  per  cent,  wua  imposed  on  the  salaries  of  commissioned 
officers,  thus,  indirectly  reducing  their  p:iy. 


11 

11 

11 

11 

11 

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11 

SCHEDULE  OF  STAMP  DUTIES. 


stamp  Duties. 

Achwwhdr/ment'o{  deeds.,.. ->..,., exempt 

Affidavit 5  cts. 

"      in  suits  or  legal  proceedings exempt. 

Agreement  or  Appraisement,  (for  caoh  sheet,  or  piece  of 

paper  on  which  the  same  is  written) 5  cts. 

Assignment  or  transfer  of  mortgage,  lease,  or  policy  of 
insurance,  the  same  duty  as  the  original 
instrument. 

"         of  patent  right 5  cts. 

Bank  CAcc^s,  drafts  or  orders,  &c.,  at  sight  or  on  demand     2  cts. 
Bills  of  Exchange,  (Foreign,)  drawn  in,  but  payable  out 
of,  the  United  States,  each  bill  of  three 
or  more,  must  be  stamped. 
For  every  bill  of  each  set,  where  the  sum 
made  payable  does  not  exceed  one  hun- 
dred dollars,  or  the  equivalent  thereof  in 
aey  fereiga  currency  in  which  such  bills 
may  be  expressed,  according  to  the  stand- 
ard of  value  fixed  by  the  United  States...     2  cts. 
For  every  additional  hundred  dollars,  or 
fractional  part  thereof  in  excess  of  one 

hundred  dollars 2  cts. 

(Foreign^)  drawn  in,  but  made  payable  out 
of,  the  United  States,  (if  drawn  singly  or 
in  duplicate,)  pay  the  same  duty  as  In- 
land Bills  of  Exchange. 
[The  acceptor  or  acceptors  of  any  Bill  of 
Exchange,  or  order  for  the  payment  of 
any  sum  of  money  drawn,  or  purporting 
to  be  drawn,  in  any  foreign  country,  but 
payable  in  the  United  States,  must,  be- 
fore paying  or  accepting  the  same,  place 
thereon  a  stamp  indicating  the  duty.] 
Bills  of  Exchange,  (Inland,)  draft  or  order,  payable  oth- 
erwise than  at  sight  or  on  demand,  and 
any  promissory  note,  whether  payable  on 
demand  lOr  at  a  time  designated,  (except 

(229) 


230  SCHEDULE  OF  STAMP  DUTIES. 

Stamp  Puties. 
))nnk  notos   issued   for  circulation,  and 
chocks    made  and  intended  to  be,  and 
•which  shall  be,  forthwith  presented  for 

{)ayment,)  for  a  sura  not  exceeding  one 
lundrod  dollars 5  cts. 

For  every   additional  $100,    or    fractional 

part  thereof. 5  cts. 

[The  warrant  of  attorney  to  confess  judg- 
ment on   a  note  or  l)ond  is  exempt  from 
stamp  duty,  if  the  note  or  bond  is  prop- 
erly stamped.] 
Jiills  of  Lading,  of  vessels  for  ports  of  the  United  States 

or  JJritish  North  America exempt. 

"           or  receipt  for  goods,  to  any  foreign  port....    10  cts. 
Bill  of  Bale  of  any  vessel,  or  part  thereof,  when  the 
consideration  does  not  exceed  live  hun- 
dred dollars 50  eta. 

"          exceeding  $500,  and  not  exceeding  $1,000.     $1  00 
"           exceeding  $1,000,   for  each  $500,  or  frac- 
tional part  thereof. 50  cts. 

"  of  personal  property,  (other  than  ship  or 

vessel) 5  cts. 

Bond,  personal,  for  the  payment  of  money.  (See  Morl- 
rjage.) 

«'  official $100 

"  for  indemnifying  any  person  for  the  pay- 

ment of  any  sum  of  money,  where  the 
money  ultimately  recoverable  thereupon 

is  $1,000  or  less 50  cts. 

"  Where    the    money    recoverable    exceeds 

$1,000,   for  every  additional  $1,000,    or 

fractional  part  thereof. 50  cts. 

Bonds. — County,   city,  and  town  bonds,    railroad   and 
other  corporation  bonds,  and  scrip,  are 
subject  to  stamp  duty.     (See  Mortgage.) 
"  of  any  description,  other  than  such  as  are 

required  in  legal  proceedings,  and  such 
as  are    not   otherwise    charged   in   this 

Schedule 25  cts. 

Certificates  of  deposit  in  bank,  sum  not  exceeding  one 

hundred  dollars 2  cts. 

"  of  deposit   in   bank,    sum    exceeding   one 

hundred  dollars 5  cts. 

"  of  stock  in  an  incorporated  company 25  cts. 

'.'  general 5  cts. 

"  of  record  upon  the  instrument  recorded...  exempt. 


SCHEDULE  OF  STAMP  DUTIES.  231 

Stamp  Duties. 

Certificates  of  record  upon  the  book exempt. 

"  of  weight  or  measurement  of  animals,  coal, 

wood,  or  other  articles,  except  weighers' 

and  measurers'  returns exempt. 

"  of  a  qualification  of  a  Justice  of  the  Peace, 
Commissioner  of  Deeds,  or  Notary  Pub- 
lic      5  cts. 

"  of  search  of  records 5  cts, 

"  that  certain  papers  are  on  file 5  cts. 

"  that  certain  papers  can  not  be  found 5  eta. 

"  of  redemption  of  land  sold  for  taxes 5  cts. 

"  of  birth,  marriage  and  death 5  eta. 

"  of  qualification  of  school  teachers 5  eta. 

"  of  profits  of  an  incorporated  company  for 

a  sum  not  less  than  $10  and  not  exceed- 

ing$50 10  Ota. 

"  exceeding  $50,  and  not  exceeding  $1,000...    25  cts. 

"  exceeding    $1,000,    for    every    additional 

$1,000,  or  fractional  part  thereof 25  cts, 

"  of  damage,  or  otherwise,  and  all  other  cer- 

tificates or  documents  issued  by  any  port 
warden,  marine  surveyor,  or  other  person 

acting  as  such 25  cts. 

Certified  Transcripts  of  judgments,  satisfaction  of  judg- 
ments, and  all  papers  recorded  or  on  file.  5  eta. 
[N.  B. — As  a  general  rule,  every  certificate 
which  has,  or  may  have,  a  legal  value  in 
any  court  of  law  or  equity,  will  require 
a  stamp  duty  of  5  cts.] 
Charter  parti/,  or  letter,  memorandum,  or  other  writing 
between  the  captain,  owner,  or  agent  of 
any  ship,  vessel,  or  steamer,  and  any  other 
person,  relating  to  the  charter  of  the 
same,  if  the  registered  tonnage  of  said 
ship,  vessel,  or  steamer  does  not  exceed 

one  hundred  and  fifty  tons  $1  00 

*'  exceeding  one  hundred  and  fifty  tons,  and 

not  exceeding  three  hundred  tons 3  00 

"          exceeding  three  hundred  tons,  and  not  ex- 
ceeding six  hundred  tons 5  00 

"  exceeding  six  hundred  tons...  10  00 

Check,  draft,  or  order  for  the  payment  of  any  sum  of 
money  exceeding  $10,  drawn  upon  any 
person  other  than  a  bank,   banker,    or 
trust  company,  at  sight  or  on  demand....     2  cta. 
Contract,     {^qq  Agreement.) 


u 
u 


232  SCllEDt'LE  OF  STAXIP  DUTIES. 

Stamp  Duties. 

Contract,  broker's 10  cts. 

Conveyance,  deed,  instrument,  or  writin>r,  whereby  lands, 
tenements,  or  other  realty  sold,  shall  be 
conveyed,  the  actual  value  of  which  does 

not  exceed  $500 50  cts. 

"  exceedinr^  $500,  and  not  exceeding  $1,000.     $1  00 

"  fur  every  additional  $500,  or  fractional  part 

thereof  in  excess  of  $1,000 50  cts. 

Endorsement  of  any  negotiable  instrument exempt 

Entry  of  any  goods,  wares,  or  merchandise  at  any  cus- 
tom house,  either  for  consumption  or 
warehousing,  not  exceeding  one  hundred 

dollars  in  value 25  cts. 

"                  exceeding  one  hundred  dollars,  and  not  ex- 
ceeding five  hundred  dollars  in  value 50  cts. 

exceeding  five  hundred  dollars  in  value.,..     $1  00 
for  the  withdrawal  of  any  goods  or  mer- 
chandise from  bonded  warehouse 50  cts. 

Gangers    returns,  if   for  quantity    not  exceeding    500 

gallons,  gross 10  cts. 

"  exceeding  500  gallons 25  cts. 

Insurance,  (Marine,  Inland,  and  Fire,)  where  the  con- 
sideration paid  for  the  insurance,  in 
cash,  premium  notes,  or  both,  does  not 

exceed  $10 10  cts. 

"  (Marine,  Inland,  and  Fire,)  exceeding  $10, 

and  not  exceeding  $50 25  cts. 

"            <^I<'^rine,  Inland,  and  Fire,)  exceeding  $50,  50  cts. 
Insurance,  (Life,)  when  the  amount  insured  does  not  ex- 
ceed '$1,000 25  cts. 

"            <Lifc,)  eiceeding  $1,000,  and  not  exceed- 
ing $5,000 50  cts. 

I*  (Life,)  exceeding  $5,000 $100 

(Life,)  limited  to  injury  to  persons  while 

traveling exempt. 

Lease  of  lands  or  tenements,  where  rent  does  not  ex- 
ceed $300  per  annum 50  cts. 

exceeding  $300,  for  each  additional  $200, 
or  fractional  part  thereof  in  excess  of 

$300 50  cts. 

perpetual,   subject  to   a  stamp  duty  as  a 
"conveyance,"    the   stamp   duty    to    be 
measured  by  resolving  the  annual  rental 
into  a  capital  sum. 
"  clause  ofguaranty  of  payment  of  rent,  incor- 

porated or  indorsed,  five  cents  additional 


II 


II 


SCHEDITLE  OF  STAMP   DUTIES.  2S3 

Stamp  Duties. 

Manifest  for  custom-house  entry  or  clearance  of  the 
cargo  of  any  ship,  vessel,  or  steam-er  for 
a  foreign  port,  if  the  registered  tonnage 
of  such  ship,  vessel,  or  steamer  does  not 

exceed  300  tons ,■ $1  00 

"  exceeding  300  tons,  and  not  exceeding  600 

tons 3  00 

"  exceeding  600  tons... 5  00 

Measurer  s  Returns,    if  for  quantity  not  exceeding  one 

thousand  bushels 10  cts. 

"  esceedimg  one  thousand  busheis 25  cts. 

Mori-gage,  trust  deed,  bill  of  sale,  or  personal  bond  for 
the  payment  of  money  exceeding  §100, 

and  not  exceeding  $500 50  cts. 

"  exceeding  $500,  for  every  additional  $500, 

or  fractional  part  thereof  in  excess  of 

$500 50  cts. 

Pawners'    Ch'C'cks - 5  cts. 

Pension  Papers. — Powers  of  attorney,  and  all  other  pa- 
pers relating  to  applications  for  bounties, 
arrearages  of  pay,  or  pensions,  or  to  re- 
ceipt thereof exempt. 

Passage  Ticket  from  the  United  States  to  a  foreign  port, 

costing  not  more  than  $35 50  cts. 

"  from  the  United  States  to  a  foreign  port, 

costing  more  than  $35,  and  not  exceeding 

$50 $1  00 

"  for  every  additional  $50,  or  fractional  part 

thereof  in  excess  of  $50 $1  00 

Power  of  Atturneg  to  sell  or   transfer  stock,    or  collect 

dividends  thereon 25  ct«. 

"  to  vote  at  election  of  incorporated  company  10  cts. 

"  to  receive  or  collect  rents 25  cts. 

"  to  sell,  or  convey,  or  rent,  or  lease  real  estate     $1  00 

"  for  any  purpose 50  cts. 

Probate  of  Will,  or  letters  of  administration,  where  the 
value  of  both  real  and  personal   estate 

does  not  exceed  $2,000 $100 

"  '  for  every  additional  $1,000,    or  fractional 

part  thereof  in  excess  of  $2,000 50  cts. 

"  bonds  of  executors,  administrators,  guar- 

dians, and  trustees;  are    each  subject  to 

a  stamp  duty  of. $1  00 

"  certificate  of  appointment 5  cts. 

Protest  upon  bill,  note,  check,  or  draft...- 25  cts. 


234  SCHIiDUI.E  OK  STAMP   DUTIK3. 

Stamp  DutioA. 


Promissory  Note. — (Sec  Bills  of  Exchange,  Inland.) 

"          deposit  note  to  mutual    insurance    compa- 
nies, when  policy  is  subject  to  duty exempt. 

"  renewal  of,  subject  to  same  duty  as  an  orig- 

inal note. 
Quit  Claim  Deed,  to  be  stamped  as  a  conveyance,  ex- 
cept when  given  as  a  release  of  a  mort- 
gage by  the  mortgagee  to  the  mortgagor, 
in  which  case  it  is  exempt. 
Receipt  ioT  the  payment  of  any  sum  of  money  or  debt 
due  exceeding  $20,  or  for  the  delivery  of 

any  property 2  eta. 

"                  for  satisfaction  of  any  mortgage  or  judg- 
ment or  decree  of  any  court exempt. 

Sheriff's   return  on  writ  or  other  process exempt. 

Trust  Deed,  made  to  secure  a  debt,  to  be  stamped  as  a 
mortgage. 
"  conveying  estate  to  uses,  to  be  stamped  as 
conveyance. 
Warehouse  Receipt  for  any  goods,  wares,  or  merchandise 
not  otherwise  provided  for,  deposited  or 
stored  in  any  public  or  private  ware- 
house, not  exceeding  $500  in  value 10  cts. 

•*            exceeding  $500,  and  not  exceeding  $1,000.  20  cts. 
*'            exceeding    $1,000,    for    every    additional 
$1,000,  or  fractional  part  thereof  in  ex- 
cess of  $1,000 ._ 10  cts. 

*'  for   any   goods,  ttc,  not  othewise  provided 

for,  stored  or  deposited  in  any  public  or 

private  warehouse  or  yard 25  cts. 

Writs  and  Legal  Documents  : 

Writ,  or  other  original   process  by  which 
suit  is  commenced  in  any  court  of  record, 

either  of  law  or  equity 50  cts. 

Writ,  or  other  original  process  issued  by 
a  court  not  of  record,  where  the  amount 

claimed  is  $100  or  over 50  cts. 

Upon  every  confession  of  judgment  or  cog- 
novit for  $100,  or  over,  except  in  cases 
where  the  tax  for  a  writ  has  been  paid..  50  cts. 
Writs,  or  otlicr  process  on  appeals  from 
justices'  courts,  or  other  courts  of  infe- 
rior jurisdictiun,  to  a  court  of  record....  50  cts. 
Warrant  of  distress,  when   the   amount  of 

rent  claimed  docs  not  exceed  $100 25  eta. 


SCHEDULE  OF  STAMP   DUTIES.  235 

Stamp  Duties. 

Warrant  of  distress  when  amount  exceeds 
$100 50  cts. 

Writs,  summons,  and  other  process  issued 
by  a  justice  of  the  peace,  police  or  mu- 
nicipal court,  of  no  greater  jurisdiction 
than  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  the  same 
State exempt. 

Writs,  and  other  process  in  any  criminal 
or  other  suits  commenced  by  the  United 
States  in  any  State exempt. 

Official  documents,  instruments,  and  papers 
issued  or  used  by  officers  of  the  United 
States  Government exempt. 


GENERAL    REMARKS. 

Revenue  stamps  may  be  used  indiscriminately  upon  any  of 
the  matters  or  things  enumerated  in  Schedule  B,  except  proprie- 
tary and  playing  card  stamps,  for  which  a  special  use  has  been 
provided. 

Postage  stamps  cannot  be  used  in  payment  of  the  duty  charge- 
able on  instruments. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  maker  of  an  instrument  to  affix  and  can- 
cel the  stamp  required  thereon.  If  he  neglects  to  do  so,  the 
party  for  whose  use  it  is  made  may  stamp  it  before  it  is  used; 
but  in  no  case  can  it  be  legally  used  without  a  stamp ;  and  if 
issued  after  the  30th  of  June,  1864,  and  used  without  a  stamp, 
it  cannot  be  afterwards  effectually  stamped.  Any  failure  upon 
the  part  of  the  maker  of  an  instrument  to  appropriately  stamp 
it  renders  him  liable  to  a  penalty  of  two  hundred  dollars. 

Suits  are  commenced  in  many  States  by  other  process  than 
writ,  viz  :  summons,  warrant,  publication,  petition,  &c.,  in  which 
cases  these,  as  the  original  processes,  severally  require  stamps. 

Writs  of  scire  facias  are  subject  to  stamp  duty  as  original 
processes. 

The  jurat  of  an  affidavit,  taken  before  a  Justice  of  the  Peace, 
Xotary  Public,  or  other  officer  duly  authorized  to  take  affidavits, 
is  held  to  be  a  certificate,  and  subject  to  a  stamp  duty  of  five 
cents,  except  when  taken  in  suits  or  legal  proceedings. 

Certificates  of  loan,  in  which  there  shall  appear  any  written 
or  printed  evidence  of  an  amount  of  money  to  be  paid  on  de- 
mand, or  at  a  time  designated,  are  subject  to  stamp  duty  as 
"Pomissory  Notes." 

The  assignment  of  a  mortgage  is  subject  to  the  same  stamp 
duty  as  that  imposed  upon  the  original  instrument;    that  is  to 


236  SCTIEDULE  OF  SriAMP   ITCTIEg. 

say,  for  every  sum  of  five  hundred  dollars,  or  any  fracti-ona!  part 
thereof  of  the  amount  secured  by  the  mortgage  at  the  time  of 
its  assignment,  there  must  be  affixed  a  stamp  or  stamps  denoting 
a  duty  of  fifty  cents. 

When  two  or  more  persons  join  in  the  execution  of  an  instru- 
ment, the  stamp  to  which  the  instrument  is  liable  under  the 
law  may  be  affixed  and  canceled  by  any  one  of  the  parties. 

In  conveyances  of  real  estate,  the  law  provides  that  the  stamp 
affixed  must  answer  to  the  value  of  the  estate  or  interest  con- 
veyed. 

No  stamp  is  required  on  any  warrant  of  attorney  accompa- 
nying a  bond  or  note,  wben  such  bon<ior  note  has  affixed  thereto 
the  stamp  or  stamps  denoting  the  duty  required;  and  whenever 
any  bond  or  note  is  secured  by  mortgage,  but  one  stamp  duty  is 
required  on  such  papers,  such  stamp  duty  being  the  highest 
rate  required  for  such  instruments,  or  either  of  them.  In  such 
case,  a  note  or  memorandum  of  the  value  or  denomination  of 
the  stamp  affixed  should  be  made  upon  the  margin  or  in  the  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  instrument  which  is  not  stamipeA 


NATIONAL  DEMOCKATIC  PLATFORM 

OF  1864. 


Resolved,  That  in  the  future,  as  in  the  past,  we  will  adhere 
with  unswerving  fidelity  to  the  Union  under  the  Constitution  as 
the  only  solid  foundation  of  our  strength,  security  and  happi 
ness  as  a  people,  and  as  a  framework  of  government  equally 
conducive  to  the  welfare  and  prosperity  of  all  the  States,  both 
Northern  and  Southern. 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  does  explicitly  declare,  as  the 
sense  of  the  American  people,  that  after  four  years  of  failure 
to  restore  the  Union  by  the  experiment  of  war,  during  which, 
iiuder  the  pretense  of  military  necessity  or  war  power  higher 
than  the  Constitution,  the  Constitution  itself  has  been  disre- 
garded in  every  part,  and  public  liberty  and  private  right  alike 
trodden  down,  and  the  material  prosperity  of  the  country  es- 
sentially impaired,  justice,  humanity,  liberty  and  the  public 
welfare  demand  that  immediate  efforts  be  made  for  a  cessation 
of  hostilities  with  a  view  to  an  ultimate  convention  of  the 
States,  or  other  peaceable  means,  to  the  end  that  at  the  earliest 
practical  moment  peace  may  be  restored  on  the  basis  of  the 
Federal  Union  of  the  States. 

Resolved,  That  the  direct  interference  of  the  military  author- 
ities of  the  United  States  in  the  recent  elections  held  in 
Kentucky,  Maryland,  Missouri  and  Delaware  was  a  shameful 
violation  of  the  Constitution,  and  a  repetition  of  such  acts  in 
the  approaching  election  will  be  held  as  revolutionary,  and  re- 
sisted with  all  the  means  and  power  under  our  control. 

Resolved,  That  the  aim  and  object  of  the  Democratic  party 
is  to  preserve  the  Federal  Union  and  the  rights  of  the  States 
unimpaired,  and  they  hereby  declare  that  they  consider  that 
the  administrative  usurpation  of  extraordinary  and  dangerous 
powers  not  granted  by  the  Constitution,  the  subversion  of  the 
civil  by  military  law  in  States  not  in  insurrection,  the  arbitrary 
military  arrest,  imprisonment,  trial  and  sentence  of  American 
citizens  in  States  where  the  civil  law  exists  in  full  force,  the 
suppression  of  freedom  of  speech  and  of  the  press,  the  denial 
of  the  right  of  asylum,  the  open  and  avowed  disregard  of  State 
rights,  the  employment  of  unusual  test  oaths,  and  the  iuterfer- 

237 


238  NATIONAL    DEMOCRATIC    PLATFORM. 

ence  with,  and  denial  of  the  ri;:ht  of  the  people  to  bear  arms  in 
their  defense,  is  calculated  to  prevent  a  restoration  of  the  Union 
and  the  perpetuation  of  the  Government  deriving  its  just  powers 
from  the  consent  of  the  governed. 

liesolced,  That  the  shameful  disregard  of  the  Administration 
to  its  duty  in  respect  to  our  fellow-citizens  who  now  are,  and 
Ions;  have  been,  prisoners  of  war  in  a  suflerincc  condition,  de- 
serves the  severest  reprobation  on  the  score  alike  of  public  pol- 
icy and  common  humanity. 

Resolved,  That  the  sympathy  of  the  Democratic  party  is 
heartily  and  earnestly  extended  to  the  soldiery  of  our  army  and 
sailors  of  our  navy  who  are  and  have  been  in  tlie  field  and  on 
the  sea,  under  the  flag  of  their  country,  and  in  the  event  of  its 
attaining  power,  they  will  receive  all  the  care,  protection  and 
regard  that  the  brave  soldiers  and  sailors  of  the  llepublic  have 
80  nobly  earned. 


INDEX, 


PAGE. 

Formation  of  Original  Union ►„ 5 

Declaration  of  Independence 7 

Constitution  of  the  United  States 12 

Washington's  Address  to  Colonial  Congress   upon  receiving 

Commission  as  Conaman-der-in-Chief. 26 

"Washington's  Address  upon  Resigning  Commission  as  Com- 
mander-in-Chief..   27 

Washington's  Inaugural  Address 28 

Washington's  Farewell  Address ► 32 

History  of  the  States ..« ►.. 46 

Missouri  Compromise - 67 

Fugitive  Slave  Law, 68 

Kansas  and  Nebraska  Act 74 

Ordinance  of  1787 85 

Electoral  Votes 92 

General  Keiaarks 112 

Biographies  of  Ex-Presidcnts 113  to  144 

Biography  of  Abraham  Lincoln 145 

Biography  of  John  C.  Fremont 151 

Biograpky  of  Gen.  George  B.  McGlellan 155 

Biography  of  Lieut.  Gen.  U.  S.  Grant 159 

Biography  of  Andrew  Johnson 163 

Proposed  Crittenden  Compromise 165 

Emaneipation  Proclamation. ~.. 167 

Letter  explaining  same. 168 

President  Jackson's  Proclamation  to  South  Carolina  Nullifiers  1 73 

Platforms  of  1860—1864 _. 192  to  190 

Speech  of  A.  H.  Stephens  against  Secession 200 

Pay  of  United  States  Officers ^18 

Schedule  of  Stamp  Duties 229 

Geaeral  Remarks- ^ .» 235 


2S7 


23S 


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And  has  the  Reversible  Feed  adapted  for  all  kinds  of  Sewing. 

SEPiD  FOR  CIRCULAR  AND  SAMPLE  OF  WORK. 

J.  W.  SMITH,  General  Agent, 

No.   17  Pennsylvania  St.,   Indianapolis,   Ind. 
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THE 


3:  m  5 


A    GIFT    BOOK 

FOR    CHRISTTA.lSrS. 
1  Vol.    125110.    5O0  png^es.    PRICE  $1.50 


The  publishers  take  great  pleasure  in  presenting  this 
volume  to  the  Christian  public,  as  one  eminently  calculated 
to  do  good. 

In  his  preface,  tho  aullior  informs  us  tliat  the  work  "  is  not  designed  as  a  sj'S- 
(cmatic  treatirs,  but  as  au  liumlile  essay  on  the  great,  tho  inexhaustible  subject  of 
tho  love  of  Clirist,  as  nianife3te<l  to  a  lost  world."  It  is  divided  into  four  parts, 
under  the  following  general  heads  :  "  The  Love  of  Christ  ;"  "  Christ  and  Him  Cru- 
cified ;"  "  Wanderings  of  a  Pilgrim  ;"  "  Imniauuers  I/atul."  These  are  subdivided 
into  some  eight  or  ten  chapters  each. 

[from    the    F.DITOK   OF   THE    "CHRISTIAN    A!>V0C.^TE."] 

Having  examined  "The  Heavenly  Token,"  now  being  circulated  in  this  commu- 
nity, I  have  no  hesitancy  in  recommending  the  work  to  our  people. 

E.  THOMSON, 
Late  President  of  iJ.e  Ohio  Wesletjan  Universi/y. 

[fKOM    THE    NEW    YOKS    CUUONICLE.] 

In  coming  to  the  pages  of  this  good  book,  after  noticing  so  many  of  quite  a  differ- 
ent character,  we  feel  our  soul  refreshed  like  a  man  who  reaches  a  green,  beautiful 
rivulet — irrigated  oasis  in  a  land  where  no  water  is,  a  land  which  is  as  tho  shadow 
of  death.  It  is  much  in  tlia  strain  of  Doddridge's  lUse  and  Progress  of  Ileligion  in 
the  Soul,"  or  Baxter's  "  Saint's  Rest,"  and  like  the  latter  book  "  was  composed 
during  a  long  perriod  of  recovery  from  a  chronic  disease,  wlii'Ch  brought  the  author 
to  the  gates  of  death,  and  well  nigh  terminated  his  life."  It  offers  Christianity  to 
the  reader,  not  in  any  controversial  aspect,  not  in  any  acute,  ip.etaphysical  or  phi- 
losophical form,  not  as  gratifying  curiosity  by  new  revelations  in  reference  to  de- 
parted spirits  or  their  altode,  not  in  any  of  tho  phases  of  it  in  which  so  many  aro 
solely  absorbed,  but  Christianity  as  embraced  by  one  who  has  been  slaiu  by  the 
law  and  mado  alive  by  Christ,  as  the  balm  of  a  wounded  heart,  as  salvation  for  the 
lost,  as  life  for  the  dead.  And  as  the  matter  of  this  work  is  purely  evangelical,  so 
its  stylo  is  eminently  simple,  direct,  ajipropriiite.  It  is  made  to  bear  with  great 
force  directly  upon  the  conscience,  and  Iieuce  is  lidrlalory,  pungent,  and  powerful, 
stirring  up  the  spiritual  alfectious  from  (lieir  deepest  fountains.  We  could  wish 
that  whatever  books  are  given  on  tho  holidays,  this  one  may  accompany  them  as 
the  crowning  gift  of  all. 

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